State health minister Rajesh Tope is at it again despite the fact that chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had informally made it clear to cabinet members that they should refrain from making public announcements on lockdown norms.
At the weekly cabinet meeting recently, there was a prolonged discussion on relaxation of norms, particularly on opening of malls and timing of shops, on the basis of recommendations made by the high-level task force. But no final decision was taken and it was left to the CM to announce the decision. Immediately after the meeting, Tope had an interaction with the media, where he created the impression that a final decision had been taken and that the official order was minutes away.
New rules were expected to be declared on August 1, but the haste with which Tope tried to grab the spotlight has caused embarrassment for the CM as well as the NCP leadership. Lessons not learnt!
Transfer games
Like the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led government, transfers are becoming a favourite sport of the MVA government, too. The highest number of bureaucrats has been reshuffled since Uddhav Thackeray took over the reins in November 2019. Some were routine transfers, but many bureaucrats were shifted in less than a month, a week and some even a day after they took over their new assignment.
More shocking was the fact that Congress and NCP cabinet members knocked on the doors of the CM to change transfer norms. In view of Covid curbs, Thackeray had last year frozen transfers, particularly of non-IAS and IPS officers, to avoid huge expenditure on allowances to the transferred employees.
A month ago, he permitted transfer of 15% of the eligible employees. Bowing to pressure from the Congress, this was enhanced to 25%. The deadline for annual transfers, which is June 30, was also extended to August 30. In view of the revised order, Mantralaya is now flooded with employees vying for a posting of their choice. Significantly, Mantralaya cadre officials, who have been holding the same post for years in violation of rules, have not been touched.
