Chief secretary warns departments against delay in making cabinet memos

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government has warned various departments against last moment submission of cabinet proposals without supportive documents for the cabinet’s consideration.
In a letter to all the departmental secretaries on November 4, chief secretary Gokul Chandra Pati wrote that the cabinet memoranda should be approved as soon as possible and sent to the parliamentary affairs (PA) department before issue of notice of cabinet meetings.
The chief secretary observed that many departments were putting up the proposals for approval in the last moment at the department level after the notice for cabinet meeting is issued.
The top bureaucrat also took strong exception to submission of the memoranda with the PA department through Group C and Group D employees. "It is found that memoranda are not supported with important documents such as press briefs and synopsis, which such employees (Group C, D) fail to understand and communicate to their departments," Pati wrote. After most cabinet meetings, the chief secretary briefs the media. The synopsis and press briefs are circulated among the journalists.
The chief secretary asked the departments to depute a "responsible officer not below the rank of deputy secretary to come with the memorandum to PA department at the time of submission of the cabinet memorandum so that s/he may well understand the shortcomings…This will avoid confusion and dislocation."
A senior officer of the PA department said many departments were taking submission of cabinet proposal very casually. "Because of shortcomings in the proposals detected at the last moment, many important items are not placed the cabinet for approval and get postponed the next meeting," he said. "Because of the delay in submission of proposals, the agenda are hardly prepared well in time to be circulated among the ministers," he added.
Opposition political parties have often criticised the state government for not circulating cabinet agenda among the ministers before cabinet meetings, thereby undermining their positions. "Invariably, we get to know about the agenda right at the meeting venue most of the time," a minister said. The state cabinet last met on November 2.