The prime minister is miffed with some ministries and departments for not complying with rules regarding sending cabinet notes to his office.
A couple of months back, the cabinet secretariat had directed ministries and departments to intimate the prime minister’s office about changes in ministries well in advance so that it gets enough time to consider matters.
However, it appears that the ministries are disregarding the advice, and as a result the prime minister’s office receive such notes at the last minute.
A circular issued to ministries said matters that are to be taken up in the New Year, all inter-ministerial consultations, must be completed in advance and a copy of the final note must be sent to the PMO seven days in advance.
The stern warning by Mrutunjay Sarangi, an additional secretary in the cabinet secretariat, said, “It has been observed that these instructions are not being adhered to strictly. With a view to ensure compliance, notes that do not give confirmation and direction for the cabinet and cabinet committees will not be considered.”
The letter from the PMO makes it clear that notes from ministries that were careless about instructions will not be entertained from January 1, 2011.
Sarangi’s missive gives other suggestions too. About inter-ministerial consultations, the note asked the ministries concerned to take the initiative about consulting each other and in case differences crop up, to mention these in the note to the cabinet secretariat.
On Thursday, the prime minister quietly cancelled a scheduled cabinet meeting because the cabinet secretariat was not able to pull out issues worthwhile to be put on the agenda. Also, many ministers who are out of Delhi now had requested to skip the weekly meeting and some ministries could not send documents on matters that were to be on the agenda on time.
Whatever the reason for the cancellation, it certainly helped the Congress duck uneasy questions from allies angry about the way price rise is being handled.
