Telangana may merge depts to fit Cabinet size
Hyderabad: Around 32 existing departments have been purportedly clubbed with 18 other departments as part of a departmental reorganisation exercise in Telangana state.
An official said that since the Constitutional provision is for only 18 Cabinet ministers, the officers have tried to club related departments to limit the number to 18. However, this could be further downsized based on the number of ministers inducted.
However, reports say that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekar Rao is likely to induct only nine members into the Cabinet and in that case, it may change the whole complexion of departments.
Draft proposals from chief secretary S.K. Joshi and chief adviser Rajiv Sharma, after receiving inputs from other IAS officers, have been sent to the Chief Minister’s Office, but a final decision will be taken by Mr Rao in consultation with his Cabinet colleagues.
A senior official said that cabinet formation will hold the key to the departmental reorganisation, irrespective of citations in the proposal.
The agriculture department is likely to see maximum departments being synergised. Marketing, co-operation, food processing, procurement, seed development and civil supplies may be clubbed into one department. Other departments will see similar changes.
The Chief Minister had earlier said that different departments distributed among various ministers will be clubbed or removed for efficient administration. But the official said no department was removed, they have only been clubbed.
With the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, while the number of IAS officers decreased, the number of departments remained the same. Even though the authorised strength of IAS officers for the state is 208, the working strength is 130. Around 60 IAS officers are available at the secretariat level.
Considering the shortage of officials, especially at senior levels, the Chief Minister took up the task of reorganising the departments. An official said that the exercise will be undertaken once ministers are inducted into the Cabinet and allotted portfolios. However, since the chief minister is likely to induct only nine ministers, the reorganisation draft proposal may see significant changes.
