Chennai: He is not a popular charismatic leader like late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa or simple and accessible like O. Panneerselvam, but Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has created a new record of clearing 3,563 files that have reached his office (from February 16, 2017, to September 25, 2017) in a short span of seven months.
This was followed by relevant government orders and this is a new all-time high in the recent years, according to confidential sources in the secretariat. The CM who handles the all-important portfolios of home, public, public works department and state highways alone had cleared the maximum files and his departments had put forth as many as 2,071 files of the total 3,563 cleared by his office. The home department has cleared 714 files followed by the public department with 515 files.
In sharp contrast, ministers handling Information technology, special project implementation, social welfare, transport, local administration, transport, food - consumer protection and energy departments have generated a total of fewer than 200 files. But there are departments like energy and local administration where tender works are heavy leaving little time for new policies and government orders, official sources explained.
“The CM has clearly instructed to clear the files within a day. In 90 per cent of the cases, the files are cleared within a day after getting the consent of chief secretary and top brass at CM office and the rest is cleared the next day,” said an official. Further, the CM does not put up unnecessary queries holding the files.
“Transfers of IAS, IPS and other senior government officials are also a reason for the increase in files at CM office. Further department secretaries play a crucial role in speeding up the file movements”, said a senior bureaucrat pointing out that minister R.B. Udayakumar is a person who carries the file along with him to get it cleared right from his secretary to the office of chief minister.
Minister D. Jayakumar also hardly asks any queries with government officials. It may be noted that O. Panneerselvam recently informed the Assembly that he clears all the files within three days while responding to a query from DMK leader Durai Murugan on stagnant files.
