Mr CM’s bold confession
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 19, 2014 -

Indeed Chief Minister Okram Ibobi has made a very bold statement or rather confession by going on record that there have been many complaints and words of grievances against the working style of the State Secretariat from MLAs as well as public.

Ibobi made this mind-boggling statement on the floor of the State Assembly. Bargaining and snobbery are the two words with which the Chief Minister attempted to give a sketch of the working style of the State Secretariat.

By openly declaring that there is a need to do way with current practice of deliberately and inordinately delaying file processes and making unnecessary, (we repeat unnecessary) queries, the Chief Minister made himself very clear that he is well aware of the ills and unethical practices plaguing the State Secretariat.

He is not only aware of the unethical practices but he also understands the need to streamline the whole system if what he spoke at the State Assembly on July 17 was any indication.

To remind our readers, the Secretariat is the highest echelon of the state administrative structure-offering locus for the exercise of authority by the State Government.

The expression “secretariat” is used to refer to the complex of departments headed by Ministers while the administrative heads are Secretaries to the Government.

As per the political structure of the country, the Ministers are in charge of these departments and are answerable to the legislature for the activities therein.

Below the Ministers are posted in each department several career civil servants or bureaucrats who carry out the orders of their political bosses, advise them and help them by providing necessary information required for facing the legislature and its committees.

This is a brief introduction of what a Secretariat is and its position vis-a-vis Ministers.

As we see in our everyday life, general functions of the State Secretariat encompass all matters of general policy; inter-departmental coordination; matters involving the framing of new legal enactment of rules or amendments in the existing ones.

Cases involving interpretation or relaxation of existing rules or government orders; correspondence with the Government of India and other State Governments; all matters relating to the preparation or adoption of new plan schemes, and important modifications in the existing schemes; review of the progress of the plan schemes- both physical and financial are all handled by the Secretariat.

In short, the Secretariat is the nerve centre of the entire administrative machinery and its responsibility is simply enormous. Unfortunately, the Chief Minister was telling the other day the Secretariat was bombarded with complaints and grievances galore against its working style.

When even powerful MLAs have grievances against the Secretariat, more precisely its officers and staff, one can only imagine the plight of common man. This, by analogy, means the influential bureaucrats cannot be always expected to be submissive.

It also reflects the power balance between bureaucrats and politicians. Unless, the politicians happen to be Ministers, power balance seems tilted towards bureaucrats if the MLAs’ complaints mean anything.

Yes, the power game between politicians and bureaucrats has its bearing on the common mass but what is our primary concern is the plight and harassment suffered by common man on account of the bossy and unethical conduct of Secretariat officers and staff.

Now none other than the Chief Minister himself has come out in the open against the systematic rot inside the State Secretariat. By doing so, the Chief Minister made a very bold step.

Now what is more crucial and demanding in terms of political will and determination is remedying or in the word of the CM streamlining the system currently in vogue within the power corridors of the Secretariat.

If there is any snag or flaws in the State’s administrative machinery, it lies in the heart of the Secretariat and the Ministries which control it.

So, we need out point out where the Chief Minister should start his rectification mission.