U.O.Note No.550/Ser.C./86-1 Dated 20th May, 1986
Sub:- Office Procedure - Streamlining Procedure to tone-up administrative efficiency - Certain instructions - Issued.
Ref:- 1. G.O. Ms.
No, 703, G.A. (A.R. & T.I.) Dept., dt. 4-12-1978.
2. Secret. U.O.
Note No. 189/SPF. B/81-5, G.A. (SPF-B) Dept., dt. 22-8-1981.
3. U.O. Note No.
350/SPF.B/84-AI, G.A. (SPF-B) Department, dt. 29-11-1984.
4 U.O. Note No.
301/Ser.-C/85-2, (Ser.-C) Dept., dt. 14-5-1985.
5. U.O. Note No.
1384/Ser.C /85-1, G.A. (Ser.-C) Department, dt.2-1-1986.
The Chief Minister has expressed deep concern over the manner in which important matters are handled in the Departments of Secretariat. It has been noticed by him that in a good number of cases, the officers of the Secretariat have been simply approving the notes put up by the office without proper attention and close examination. It has also come to notice that important and time bound cases such as the cases relating to annulment of orders of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal etc., are being badly delayed with the result, the relevant files are circulated to Chief Minister at the last minute and in some cases and worse still, after the expiry of the stipulated date. Similarly, concern has been expressed over the manner in which matters relating to sensitive decision of confidential nature, policy making, amendments to Acts and Rules, issues involving substantial financial implications, important courts cases, which are likely to affect vitally, the interests of the Government are being handled in the Departments of Secretariat.
2. In Order to remove the procedural irregularities of the kind mentioned above, instructions have been issued from time to time in the orders cited on many of these items. While reiterating these instructions the following further orders are issued:
(i) In every case,
to be handled by the Office, the note of the Section (Section Officer) should
be restricted to mere exposition of the facts of the case and such note should
not contain any leading opinion, comment, or suggestion- vide sub para (v) of
para 95 of the Secretariat Office Manual
(ii) At the
Gazetted level, besides the Section Officer, whose note will be limited to
exposition of the facts of the case no file should be seen by more than one
officer between the Section Officer and the decision-making authority viz., a
Minister/Principal Secretary/Secretary to Government; vide sub-para (16) of
Para 12 of the G.O. first cited.
(iii) For any
inaccuracies or improprieties in noting on files, either the Secretary to
Government or the Joint/Deputy Secretary to Government will be held
responsible.
(iv) No file
should be kept with any Officer without action for more than a week, vide
references 4th and 5th cited.
(v) With regard to
all matters relating to sensitive decisions of confidential nature, policy
making, amendments to Acts and Rules, issues involving substantial financial
implications important court cases which are likely to effect vitally the
interest of the Government etc., the relevant files must be in the personal
custody of Joint/Deputy Secretary to Government and under no circumstances such
files should be found in the custody of the officers below the rank of Deputy
Secretaries to Government who may open separate registers for such files with
the help of the personal staff attached to them.
(vi) All matters
relating to annulment of orders of A.P. Administrative Tribunal and all other
time bound matter/should be processed promptly and circulated to Minister/Chief
Minister sufficiently in advance, para 3 of secret U.O. Note 32 second cited
read with U.O. Note third cited.
(vii) No Officer below the rank of Deputy Secretary to Government should carry any files home.
3. All Principal Secretaries/Secretaries to Government are requested to ensure that the above instructions are scrupulously followed with immediate effect.
4.
Receipt of this U.O. Note may be acknowledged forthwith.
