Put it to rest now

Thecabinet secretariat is responsible for ensuring that government work is transacted according to the Rules of Business. The cabinet secretary is to ensure that all Departments adhere to procedure. The rules prescribe that each Department shall submit a monthly report to the cabinet secretariat summarising its principal activities. Every secretary has to send a personal monthly letter to the cabinet secretary to inform him of the more significant events. The secretary especially reports any deviation from the Rules of Business or incidents of disagreement with the minister. Copies of these letters are marked to the prime minister8217;s principal secretary so that both he and the cabinet secretary are informed about major events in every Department and incipient signs of trouble.

The politicisation of administration has led to less importance being attached to the transaction of work in strict accordance with the Rules of Business. The quot;political compulsionsquot; of short-lived governments have resulted in theshort-circuiting of procedures in the name of quot;getting on with the jobquot;.

Many factors dilute conformity to systems: induction of ministers with little experience; lack of a system to brief ministers on mandatory norms; unstable political situations which keep ministers engaged in politicking and make them pay inadequate attention to Department functioning; ministers8217; preference for secretaries of their choice which militates against critical examination of issues on file and encourages convenient solutions through verbal discussions; increasing volume and complexity of business; and the virtually fixed strength of the cabinet secretariat which reduces the cabinet secretary8217;s capacity for surveillance.

The Transaction of Business Rules list the Standing Committees of the Cabinet, their composition and powers. One of the most important is the Cabinet Committee on Appointments, also known as the ACC. The ACC considers recommendations and takes final decisions on empanelment, selections, appointments,transfers, reversions etc. in respect of Joint Secretary level posts and above in the Government of India and corresponding posts in central public enterprises.

The ACC consists of the minister of the concerned Department, the home minister and prime minister. On deployment of Secretaries, while procedures followed may have varied under successive Governments depending upon the strength of the PM and his/her style of functioning the prime minister has remained responsible for their selection and appointment. No minister can unilaterally proceed to make his Secretary defunct by withdrawing all his or her work.

To revert to the situation in the Urban Affairs Department: the Minister for Urban Affairs has issued an order which takes away all important work vested in his senior secretary. The minister is well within his rights to review and reorganise the arrangement of work under his charge. Normally, if a change in the Standing Orders of the Department is required, for good and given reasons, it would bemade after the minister has discussed the matter with his Secretary. However, such modification cannot be construed to authorise a minister to abruptly render his secretary functus officio. In the instant case it is reported that the minister8217;s divesting his secretary has resulted from his unhappiness over her handling of certain important cases in which he had expected given results to emerge.

It has been subsequently reported that the cabinet secretary has, with the prime minister8217;s approval, asked the minister to restore his secretary to her assigned responsibility. The minister is reported to have refused and taken the position that he is within his legal rights he was a senior advocate of the Supreme Court before joining the cabinet.

The ongoing impasse shall most likely end with the secretary8217;s quiet exit to another post and the incident will soon be obliterated by more exciting news. Yet this episode will demoralise the senior civil service and affect the vital trust and confidence on whichminister-secretary relations must be founded. The minister8217;s final authority is circumscribed by the secretary8217;s crucial responsibility to ensure adherence to mandated systems.

Genuine differences of opinion between ministers and secretaries do arise. If they cannot be resolved through unpublicised discussions, the answer lies in the minister quietly approaching the prime minister to adjudicate or seek the secretary8217;s transfer. Such tasks used to be discreetly performed by the cabinet secretary or the prime minister8217;s principal secretary.

The prime minister, after assessing the situation, may chastise the minister or secretary or both. If he finds that the secretary is right but cannot get along with the minister he may transfer the officer, perhaps to a more responsible position. If the prime minister thinks the secretary is guilty of a serious lapse he may consider a punitive approach. But such serious matters cannot be resolved through a media debate.

In the interest of maintaining governmentcredibility, ensuring that the secretary8217;s vital role and responsibility is not jeopardised and cleavage avoided in minister-secretary relations, it is to be hoped that the prime minister will lose no time in resolving this issue. Continuing delay and an inadequately informed media debate will enhance cynicism and lack of trust in government functioning at the highest level.

The writer is a former Union Home Secretary