Maha: Eknath Shinde to clear files before final approval from Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai, April 3 (IANS) The Maharashtra government has released a circular to amend the route of file movement, especially after the change in the MahaYuti government led by Eknath Shinde to Devendra Fadnavis.

As per the circular, the file, which will be cleared by the Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, will now go to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for his signature, and later it will be forwarded to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for final clearance.

During the Eknath Shinde-led government, the file assessed and cleared by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar used to go to Fadnavis, who was then Deputy Chief Minister and later to the Chief Minister for final approval. The circular was necessitated by the change in the role of Fadnavis and Shinde after the MahaYuti government was formed in December last year.

On March 18, Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik issued a circular, which stated, “...and now revised orders are being issued as all the matters specified in the Second Schedule of the Maharashtra Government Rules of Procedure should be submitted to the Chief Minister for approval through the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister (Urban Development, Housing) after the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister (Finance).”

“This essentially means that a file will first go to the desk of Deputy CM Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, as in the previous regime, and later to Deputy CM Shinde, who also holds the urban development and housing portfolios. After this, it will be submitted to CM Fadnavis for final approval,” said a senior bureaucrat.

The MahaYuti alliance comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP. By winning 132 seats in the 2024 Assembly polls, the BJP reaffirmed its status as the leader of the coalition. The Shiv Sena and the NCP won 57 and 41 seats, respectively, in the 288-member Assembly.

“The movement of files within an alliance government has always remained a key issue, leading to checks and balances within the allies. With a three-party government in power and each department dependent on others for the implementation of schemes, the smooth movement of files is of utmost importance. It avoids unnecessary friction and disputes within the allies. It also ensures that heads of all three parties are part of a major decision in the government and have scrutinised every aspect of it,” said a senior minister.

He recalled similar arrangement existed when Eknath Shinde was the Chief Minister.

“To avoid any rift among the alliance partners, it was cautiously decided that the files sent by Ajit Pawar would travel to Devendra Fadnavis and later to Chief Minister Shinde for final clearance. That system worked well between July 2023 and November 2024. The similar system will work again during the CM Fadnavis-led government,” he said.

--IANS

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