P Chidambaram, file-clearing champ; Sharad Pawar, slow coach

Cabinet ministers are hard pressed for time because they are too busy clearing files. This is the general impression about ministers, and one which they would like to pass around.

But the file reality could be much different as DNA’s RTI queries have revealed.

Take the case of Sharad Pawar, who holds five crucial ministries and departments.

An RTI query has revealed that 1,814 files were put up to him by the food and consumer affairs department during the last one year. Of these, 703 were submitted to the minister of state.

All this works out to merely five files a day for the senior minister in the cabinet and two files for the minister of state. The response from the department of agriculture is still awaited.

DNA had filed RTI queries with some of the ministers of the Union government asking them how many files were put up to them during the past year, how many of such files are pending and how many were cleared in a day.    

DNA wanted to ascertain the time the ministers devote in office attending files, many of which have implications on policy matters.    

Replies from a majority of the ministers are yet to come in, but whatever has come in provides an insight into how the ministries function.

The most forthright response came from the office of the Union home minister P Chidambaram. It sent a consolidated reply from its various wings and departments within the stipulated time-frame of 30 days. It also revealed that Chidambaram handled more files compared to his other cabinet colleagues.

According to SK Bhatnagar, chief principal information officer at the home ministry, “As many as 7,044 files were put up to the minister during the past one year. On an average, 29 files go the minister every day. No file is pending with him.”

Chidamabaram’s office informed that the minister of state cleared 1980 files during the last one year and there is no file pending.

The other ministers were not as efficient in clearing files. Minister for textile Dayanidhi Maran handled 268 files during the past one year, not even one file a day. The jute division’s reply was interesting, “Files were submitted to the minister of textiles as and when required and there is no policy (in this regard)”.

Kamal Nath, the flamboyant minister of road transport & highways, who has set an ambitious target in road construction, was somewhat cagey. The reply received from various departments under Kamal Nath revealed that he was a shade better than Maran because he handled 291 files.

The ministry claimed that there are no files pending with the minister and all files are promptly cleared. Interestingly, Kamal Nath’s junior minister handled more files during the past one year i.e. 368 files.

The Commonwealth Games and sports minister MS Gill were in the news over the last few months. Interestingly, one department revealed that no files were sent to the minister during the last one year, another said just 10 files went up to the minister’s level.

With inputs from Pankaj Sharma