Mumbai Confidential: PS, OSDs under watch

The Chief Minister’s Office isn’t just approving personal secretary (PS) and officer on special duty (OSD) appointments — it’s also watching them closely and at least one PS and one OSD have already been pulled up and warned and a handful of them are under surveillance, sources revealed. The message is clear — stay clean, or be replaced. So far, 35 PSs and 90 OSDs have been cleared — not before thorough background checks. Ministers’ recommendations were reviewed, not rubber-stamped. The fallout of this watch is a palpable unease across ministries and it is learnt that the PSs and OSDs are operating under pressure, aware that it’s not just their minister they answer to — but the CMO too. Trust is scarce and even colleagues are wary of each other. The latest buzz is that every ministry may have someone reporting directly to the top.

Taken For Granted

Usually, a minister expects that works or transfers recommended by his/her office should get accepted by the administration without a fuss. However, a certain young MoS in the state government is so shy of calling or ordering the bureaucrats that they have now started taking him for granted. He appears late for meetings or even cancels them, citing some issues. He hasn’t even held a review of all the departments under him. Last week, a senior bureaucrat refused to sign a file of transfers sent from his office. The minister accepted the same, without protest. Those awaiting transfers were left in the lurch.