Cabinet Secretary reiterates instructions to strictly adhere to timelines
In DDT-965-dated-October 6,2008 we highlighted the plight of Cabinet Secretariat in not getting the notes from various Ministries/Departments for the meetings of the Cabinet/Cabinet Committees in time. We reported:
“The cabinet Secretariat had written several times to the Ministries/Departments that the notes for the Cabinet/Cabinet Committee will not be entertained unless these are circulated five clear working days in advance of the meeting of the Cabinet/Cabinet Committee. The instructions has also highlighted that, taking into account the time required for examination of the notes in the Cabinet Secretariat, only notes received seven working days before the scheduled meeting will be circulated for the meeting provided they meet with the procedural requirements.
In spite of repeated instructions, the Cabsec finds that notes for the consideration of the Cabinet/Cabinet Committees continue to be forwarded by the Ministries/Departments till the last day prior to the Cabinet meetings, leaving very little time for its examination and for ensuring its timely circulation by the Cabinet Secretariat ”
It appears the D.O. letter issued by the Cabinet Secretary on September 25, 2008 did not have the desired effect. In the Cabinet Meeting held on October 30, 2008, the Prime Minister himself directed that all Ministries/Departments have to plan their activities in such a manner so as to obviate the necessity of untimely last minute requests for inclusion of notes for Cabinet's consideration. So, the embarrassed Cabinet Secretary has once again come out with fresh instructions reiterating the importance of adhering to the timelines prescribed in this regard and avoid last minute rush.
Cabinet Secretary is the highest ranking bureaucrat in the Country and it seems his directions to the senior bureaucrats in charge of various Ministries/Departments have fallen on deaf ears. This only highlights the gross indiscipline amongst the bureaucrats at the highest level in charge of various Ministries/Departments. “Yathaa Raja thathaa Praja” goes the age old saying. How can we expect anything better from the lower rungs of bureaucracy who interact with the public?