NEW DELHI: Almost four months after taking over as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the second time, Arvind Kejriwal has issued a fresh diktat to the bureaucrats to shoulder more responsibility or face action. What had left Kejriwal fuming was the large number of files piling up at the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) for clearance.
In a new directive, the Chief Minister has asked the bureaucrats to improve the work flow. As he realised that the “Officers were only giving opinions, but weren’t taking decisions”, Kejriwal has decided to take necessary action against the non-performing officers.
“The lack of decisiveness in every channel is leading to the files getting piled up at the CMO,” Kejriwal noted.
Holding the bureaucrats responsible, the Chief Minister had also told his Cabinet that there was an urgent need to chalk out a plan wherein they could “fix the responsibility of an officer” and delegate the powers to take decision at his own level within the existing rules and guidelines.
The CM has also made it clear that the bureaucrats would be held responsible if any discrepancies were detected. “If we find any flaw or discrepancy, the officer concerned will be held responsible and action will be taken against him,” Kejriwal said, adding that those posts would be scrapped if it was found that the officials concerned had failed to take the necessary decision.
In order to smoothen the process, Kejriwal has proposed some new initiatives in the directive. He has asked the Administrative Reforms Department to introduce a system wherein the work flow could be improved. For financial dealings, every department has been asked to give the names of the officers responsible for carrying out various tasks, involving financial transactions.
The reason for this, however, is obvious -- None of the AAP MLAs or ministers would be liable for any irregularities and the onus would be on the babus.
“This will also help the scrutinising authority and the investigative agency to shift out the levels, which may not be attributed any responsibilities in the case of any irregularity,” Administrative Reforms Departmentsaid in a letter to the Chief Minister and the other ministers. As per Kejriwal’s instructions, there should be only three levels through which files must be cleared for a decision on matters involving policy formulation and discharge of functions relating to field offices and public dealing.
In cases where a minister’s approval was needed, the file should be initiated by the Deputy Secretary and Director concerned, then it should be passed by the Joint Secretary or Secretary. The cases that require Secretary’s approval should go through the Under Secretary and Deputy Secretary, while the ones requiring the Joint Secretary’s approval should pass through just one level.