Maharashtra: Get into fast-track mode, Khastriya to juniors

Stressing on the need for fast decision-making, Maharashtra state chief secretary Swadheen Kshatriya asked the officials not to sit on files and to work at a fast pace, the way chief minister Devendra Fadnavis does.

Maharashtra state chief secretary Swadheen Kshatriya held a coordination committee meeting on Friday morning, where he ended up giving a pep talk to bureaucrats, especially after around 42 officials were moved around during a recent major reshuffle.

Stressing on the need for fast decision-making, Kshatriya asked the officials not to sit on files and to work at a fast pace, the way chief minister Devendra Fadnavis does.

“The chief minister has set by example that he wants fast and time-bound decisions. There should be no delays on clearing files anymore. It’s either yes or no. If we need to push the growth engine of Maharashtra, the entire administration needs to move together,” Kshatriya said, while explaining the need of a coordination meeting.

Kshatriya said there were new officials who had come after long innings at the Centre, and they needed to be appraised with the new working pattern.

The Make in India project was put up as a priority project of the government, and Kshatriya told all bureaucrats related to the departments involved to come up with proposals to cut down time and number of licences needed.

He also asked bureaucrats to come up with a plan of action for their departments in one month, based on the Kelkar committee recommendations.

The committee studied the regional imbalance with regard to irrigation, agriculture, education, business, industries, self-employment and private investment.

“It is good that we are being told how we can improve, and how we are to go about with the new government. The new system will take time to percolate, but it is a challenge for us,” a bureaucrat who attended the meeting said.