Andhra Pradesh ministers feel ignored at departmental reviews

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s office (CMO) is not taking into consideration the ministers when departmental reviews are held. Ministers are of the opinion that the CMO is ignoring them intentionally. They are worried about how to deal with secretaries and officials when it comes to taking policy decisions.

Secretaries often release new orders and only intimate ministers of the same through a notice. No minister is in a position to object given the influence of the bureaucrats in the CMO. Ministers are very frustrated with the CMO, which often overturns decisions made by them.

At a review on higher education at the CMO on Wednesday, human resources minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao was not present. He was busy with arrangements for the Chief Minister’s programme on Thursday in Visakhapatnam. It is necessary for the minister to attend a key review meeting. An officer who was present at the review meeting said, “This is not the first time the meeting is being conducted without the minister’s presence; it has happened many times.”

He added that it is necessary to update the minister on the decisions taken by the Chief Minister during the review meeting, but sometimes even that is not done.

According to sources, if ministers are not being kept informed by the CMO about what transpires at review meetings, then that is definitely a serious issue which needs to be addressed by the Chief Minister. Ministers should also realise the damage being caused by not attending review meetings.

Communications adviser to the government Parakala Prabhakar, denied allegations that the Chief Minister’s office does not update ministers regarding the review meetings. He said a schedule of the CM’s meetings will be prepared a month in advance and circulated to ministers.