(Online Course) Pub Ad for IAS Mains: Chapter: 6 (State Government and Administration) - The Chief Minister's Secretariat (Paper -2)

In the face of the growing responsibilities of the C.M., there is need for providing him with intensive and intelligent administrative assistance. Such assistance is provided by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, which is accountable only to him. This organization ensures that the C.M.’s directives are imple­mented by various state and district agencies. In Rajasthan, the C.M.’s Secretariat was set up in 1951. It is headed by a secretary belonging to the selection/super-time scale of the I.A.S., who is assisted by deputy secretaries, OSDs, deputy directors, assistant secretaries, accounts officers, Statistical assistants and the Superintendent of Police (Vigilance). The C.M’s Secretariat looks after the functions relating to the tours and correspondence of the C.M., redressal of public grievances, management of the C.M’s benevolent funds, implementation of the C.M’s assurances and monitoring.

The Secretary to the C.M., while providing administrative assistance to the C.M., keeps confidential documents and correspondence, accompanies the C.M. on important tours, takes follow-up action on cabinet decisions, apprises the C.M. of major developments and issues, helps him in the conduct of assembly work and supervises the staff of the C.M’s Secretariat. Moreover, he writes informal notes on all important files going to the Chief Minister to facilitate his making decisions.

The post of the Secretary to the Chief Minister (in some states, he is called Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister), has acquired enormous status and influence in recent times. The rationale behind this phenomenon is the assumption that the Secretary to the Chief Minister is the alter ego of his boss, i.e. the Chief Minister. There have been occasions when the influence of a Secretary to the Chief Minister has been disproportionately more than that would be commanded by virtue of his seniority and status in the regular IAS hierarchy. In cases when even the Chief Secretary’s real power is compromised and when other secretaries feel subservient to the C.M’s Secretary, the situation would lead to envy, silent acrimony and even demoralization among the services. Therefore, the Secretary to the Chief Minister ought to be a person who is committed to the traditional civil service virtues of anonymity, impartiality and neutrality. And, the Chief Minister should also give the impression that he does not believe in bypassing the normal channels of authority and responsibility.

The State Council of Ministers

The position of the council of ministers in the states is very much similar to that of the council of ministers at the Union level. The ‘real’ governance of the state is carried on by the council of ministers headed by the Chief Minister. The conventions that apply in a parliamentary model also apply to the state council of ministers.

Presence of a Titular Head of the State

As already pointed out, the Governor is the chief executive of the state. Except during President’s rule, he is a titular head of the state. Besides, he acts as a link between the President and the state council of ministers. Through him, the Union government maintains supervision over and provides guidance to the state government.

Leadership of the Chief Minister

Although, in theory, the position of the Chief Minister in the cabinet is that of primus inter pares, in practice, he is the sun around which all the lesser planets revolve. He is the captain of the ‘cabinet-ship’ and all ministers look up to him for direction and leadership. He holds the cabinet together as a team. All important decisions in the cabinet are taken by him and a member who does not agree with him generally has to resign. He is also responsible for the appointment of ministers, distribution of portfolios and their dismissal. In theory, although the ministers are responsible to the Legislative Assembly, in fact they are responsible, chiefly, to the Chief Minister.

Collective Responsibility

This is an age-old norm of cabinet government that all the ministers sink or swim together. They must voice the same opinion before the state legislature. In cabinet meetings, they can differ from each other but any public exposure of these differences is considered undesirable. In no case is a minister expected to speak against a government decision or policy or vote against it in the Assembly. Cracks in the cabinet solidarity give the opposition parties an eagerly awaited chance to embarrass the government or to pull it down. In maintaining this solidarity, several factors playa role, the most important ones being the personal standing of the Chief Minister (his personality, qualities of leadership, decision-making style etc.), the size of the cabinet (if small, it is easier to hold together) and the strength of the Chief Minister’s party in the State Assembly (in case, he is heading a coalition ministry, he may find it difficult to hold it together). A decision, once taken, is the decision of the cabinet. If it proves wrong, a minister cannot absolve himself of blame by saying that he was not present in the cabinet meeting when the decision was taken. On the floor of the Assembly, all the members of the council of ministers are collectively responsible for all acts of omission or commission by any of their colleagues.

Cabinet Secrecy

The cabinet follows certain norms of secrecy. All deliberations are closed to public scrutiny and only those cabinet decisions are made public which are intended or designed to be so. This is necessary because any premature leak of a cabinet decision could harm not only to the state, its economy and prestige, but also the nation at large. So great is the emphasis laid on secrecy that, even after a minister resigns or after his term is over, he is bound by his oath of office, and conventions to preserve secrecy regarding cabinet proceedings.

COMPOSITION

As at the Centre, at the state level too, the council of ministers is generally a three-tier organization consisting of:

1. Cabinet Ministers;

2. Ministers of State; and

3. Deputy Ministers.

Only rarely are parliamentary secretaries appointed. In case they are, they constitute the fourth rung of the hierarchy of the council of ministers.

The cabinet is a small body consisting of ministers holding the most important portfolios such as those of Home, Finance, Planning and Industries. As a rule, they are the only ones who attend cabinet meetings, though the second and third category of ministers may be invited to these meetings, in case their presence is needed during deliberations.

The rank of ministers of state is given to ministers who are politically less powerful and hold portfolios of relatively less importance when compared to their seniors. They might be given independent charge of a department or may be attached to individual cabinet ministers. On the other hand, deputy ministers are given independent charge of a department only in rare cases. A deputy minister is attached to a cabinet minister and performs functions which the cabinet minister delegates to him. His role is mainly to relieve the burden of the cabinet minister, and to assist him in legislative business related to his departments.

Among the members of the council of ministers, the portfolios are allocated by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. Reshuffle in state ministries and reallocation of portfolios among ministers has been a very common device used by Chief Ministers for making political adjustments as well as for enhancing administrative effectiveness. However, there has hardly been any effort made at the state level to develop certain specialist ministers who continue with a specific portfolio for a considerable time. Politically, such specialist ministers are considered a threat to the informal authority of the Chief Minister.

Functions

The council of ministers of a state takes all important policy decisions concerning the governance of the state. It also oversees the implementation of these decisions. Each cabinet minister is the head of one or more departments. Thus, the ministers not only are the political heads but, by virtue of their being responsible for all actions of the department, assume the overall politico ­administrative leadership and role.

Below the political leadership is the administrative leadership which is held by the secretary of a department who, in most cases, belongs to the IAS. Below the secretariat level organization is the directorate administration. A directo­rate is generally headed by a specialist, though in a number of cases, a generalist IAS officer may head a directorate. The council of ministers, responsible for the functioning of all the government departments as well as the relatively autonomous corporations and agencies which are non-depart­mental in form.

Broadly, the council of ministers of a state deals with the following matters:

1. Governor’s address to the Vidhan Sabha.

2. Any matter that the state Governor may refer to it under Clause (i) of Article 167 of the Constitution of India.

3. Any matter referred to it for consideration by the Chief Minister.

4. Proposals for fresh legislation or for amendments in the existing laws.

5. Important policy matters, including changes in the existing policies.

6. Proposals to deviate from or reverse a decision made by the previous council of ministers.

7. Matters concerning the state revenue, expenditure, investment and audit of accounts.

8. Proposals for budget, supplementary demands and advances from the Contingency Fund.

9. Important structural changes in the state administrative system.

10. Appointment of chairman and members of Public Service Commission, Board of Revenue, District and Session judges etc.

11. State service rules.

12. Appeals made by government servants to the Governor against the orders issued by the state government on disciplinary matters.

13. Proposals to refer any matter to the Zonal Council.

14. Union-state relations.

15. Inter-state relations.

16. Proposals regarding grant of land for erection of statues.

17. Proposals involving the alienation, either temporary or permanent, by way of sale, grant or lease.

18. Any other matter which, in the view of the council of ministers, deserves its attention and warrants any decisions or action under the Constitution and the existing laws.

In addition, the council of ministers is responsible for rendering advice to the Governor on all important state administrative matters.

Decision-making In The Council

As mentioned earlier, all important decisions of the state government are taken by the council of ministers. The process of decision-making can be studied by breaking it into a few steps. The Rules of Business prescribe the cases which have to be placed before the council of ministers and the procedure to be followed in this respect.

Drafting the Memorandum for the Meeting

The memo for the cabinet meeting should contain the number of files concerning the matter under discussion, the name of the department, the subject. history and facts of the case and the points at issue on which orders of the cabinet are desired. Arguments for and against the case and the advantages and disadvantages of a particular proposal are pointed out. Points raised by the department are also incorporated.

Information for the Cabinet Meeting

When a decision is taken to call a meeting of the cabinet, after the final approval of the Chief Minister, a letter is issued by the Chief Secretary, which informs all the cabinet ministers about the time, date and venue of the meeting. Ministers of state can be invited by the Chief Minister, if considered necessary. Cabinet meetings are held at two days notice but, they can be summoned at a few hours notice on the telephone also.

Decision by Circulation

In case a formal meeting of the cabinet cannot be held and there are certain items which require urgent disposal, the Chief Minister may issue directions that the particular subject be circulated to the ministers for their opinion. The ministers are asked to communicate their decisions by a particular date. If they do not send their recommendations and opinions by that date, it is assumed that they have no objection to the decision. Thereafter, the necessary orders are issued according to the provisions of the Rules of Business. Such decisions, taken by circulation, require the formal approval of the next cabinet meeting.

Decision in Cabinet Meeting

Agenda items are generally discussed seriatim, but it is not necessary that the serial order be followed strictly. An urgent matter can be taken up first. The Chief Secretary reads out the summary of the cabinet memo regarding each case. It is not necessary that all items be decided in a single meeting. The effectiveness of the Chief Minister and the collaborative spirit among his colleagues influences the total outcome of a cabinet meeting. The Chief Minister’s role is crucial in guiding the decisions and evolving a consensus. Although, in principle, all policy decisions should be taken by the cabinet, in practice, at times, the Chief Minister can take policy decisions on his own also and report it, and that becomes, through due process, the decision of the cabinet as such. Decisions of the cabinet are announced either on the floor of the Assembly or to the public and the press by the Chief Minister or by any member of the cabinet authorized by him.

Minutes of Cabinet Meeting

Drafting of minutes is the responsibility of the Chief Secretary, who acts as the Secretary to the Council though, in actual practice, the Special Secretary, Cabinet, does this work. The minutes, approved by the Chief Minister are sent to all the ministers, the Secretary to the Governor and other secretaries. It may be mentioned in this context that details regarding the deliberations within the cabinet are not recorded. Only the decisions made are recorded for reference and reporting.

Implementation of Cabinet Decisions

The minister and the secretary of the concerned department are responsible for the implementation of a cabinet decision. In the Cabinet Secretariat, a register is maintained for the purpose of recording the progress made in relation to various cabinet decisions. Similar registers, regarding the imple­mentation of cabinet decisions, are kept in each department as well.

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