Centre directs Secretaries to meet non-officials on ministry matters, citing need for feedback, transparency, and policy clarity.
NEW DELHI: The Central government has decided to take corrective action by streamlining its feedback mechanism, after getting reports that many of its Secretaries are refusing to meet those who are not government officials regarding policy, intention etc. The Sunday Guardian has a copy of the letter which spells out this problem and issues a directive.
The letter has been sent to all Secretaries of Government of India. Written by Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan, the letter says, “People of various sections of society have told me that there is a perceived reluctance among several Secretaries to Government of India and other senior officers to give appointment to persons who are not government officials, who may wish to meet them in connection with the work of their Ministries.
“The work of government is such that it affects or benefits many people and many organisations. Meeting visitors can give insights into the actual state of affairs on the field, help detect or clarify miscommunications or misunderstandings about government’s policy or intentions, give access to new ideas, and provide an opportunity to rectify mistakes.” The letter acknowledges that senior officers may have time constraints which limit their ability to give appointments.
Even then the Cabinet Secretary writes, “I request you, if you are not already doing so, to endeavour to be accessible to non-officials who may seek to meet you in connection with the work of your Ministry/Department, subject of course to time constraints and other priorities.” The Cabinet Secretary also asks the Secretaries to request other senior officers in their ministries or departments to do the same. He also mentions that “the following circumstances would not be a bar to meeting a person in your office”.
The circumstances are:
1. The person is receiving some benefit from, or is a contractor of, the department.
2. The person is from a trade union or political party or NGO.
3. The person is from the private sector (Indian o foreign) or a chamber of commerce.
4. The person is a under a law enforcement action or investigation by any department.
5. The person has a dispute with the department on some contractual matter and/or the matter is sub judice or under arbitration.
The Cabinet Secretary then writes that “Such meetings should be in your office and not in social settings, clubs, hotels etc. In some cases, if you feel it is necessary as a precaution, you could ask another officer to be present.”
The letter adds that all this applies only to non officials. For meeting officials of foreign governments or missions, Ministry of External Affairs guidelines will apply.
