Jumbo secretariat cleared for CMO, Dy CMs’ offices

Mumbai: A month after he was sworn in as chief minister, the general administration department led by Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday approved a jumbo secretariat for his office as well as for the office of deputy chief ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.
When Shinde was CM, the total strength of the secretariat was 148 which has now been increased to 164 while for the DCMs it will be 72, 16 for cabinet ministers and 14 for ministers of state.
“In view of increased work pressure, we need more people. In fact, even 164 too is meagre strength. We need at least 200 officials to run the CMO,” a senior bureaucrat said.
The govt resolution issued on Tuesday stated that the CMO will have a total staff of 164, including three bureaucrats—additional chief secretary and equal number of principal secretary and secretary. In addition, the CM will have 10 officers on special duty. The DCMs too will have a principal secretary and secretary rank bureaucrat in the secretariat and seven officers on special duty. In addition, the CM and both the DCMs will have two public information officers, all drawn from the Directorate General of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR). Even cabinet members will have three officers on special duty.
Private persons appointed on the establishment of DCMs’ cabinet ministers and ministers of state will require a written permission from the CMO. Another bureaucrat said it was high time the number of employees on the establishment of the CMO and DCM is cut, and the cost must be reduced.