Maha govt cancels informal appointments in Mantralaya
Mumbai, Aug 25
In a major administrative overhaul to preserve discipline and transparency, the government of Maharashtra on Tuesday issued a strict Government Resolution directing the immediate cancellation of all informal, verbal, and irregular deputation‑based postings across state secretariat departments and ministers' offices.
The directive, issued by Chief Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal under the authority of the Governor and approved by the Chief Minister, highlighted concerns over operational security, administrative standards and compromised governance resulting from unauthorised personnel appointments.
According to the General Administration Department (GAD), a large number of staff, including doctors, engineers, stenographers and teachers, were posted in ministers' offices and secretariat wings based merely on oral instructions, informal borrowing or external contract arrangements.
These postings were made without approvals from parent departments, the Additional Chief Secretary (GAD/Services), the Chief Secretary or the Chief Minister.
The GR noted that key background checks, including integrity certificates, character verifications, confidential performance reports and departmental inquiry status, were skipped. Transferred staff lacked proper administrative training for secretariat‑level workflows, adversely impacting governance.
Informal transfers created double vacancies, destabilising operations in parent departments and wasting prior training investments. The practice of extending contracts to retired personnel from obsolete cadres was also declared improper.
To rectify the system, the state administration has ordered that all irregular, oral and borrowed postings in ministers' offices and departments stand cancelled immediately. Personnel must be repatriated to their parent cadres by September 10, 2026.
Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) have been instructed to stop salaries of staff who fail to join by September 15, 2026. Secretariat entry passes, facial‑recognition access, and digital attendance privileges for affected personnel will be revoked by September 20, 2026.
Secretaries of all departments must submit compliance reports to the Chief Secretary's office. Non‑compliance will trigger disciplinary proceedings under MCSR (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1979.
The GR further directed that any additional staff requirement in ministers' offices must strictly follow official GAD guidelines. Proposals to create, convert or upgrade posts must be routed through GAD desks via the Chief Secretary for approval by the Chief Minister. The government also announced plans to review sanctioned vacant posts and establish a dedicated administrative framework to streamline training, promotions and cadre management.
The order underscored that informal hires bypassed critical protocols, posing operational and security risks. External personnel, including technical staff, steno‑typists, engineers and teachers brought into administrative roles on oral orders, lacked requisite training, causing delays and leaving vacancies in their original departments.
— IANS
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