Thiruvananthapuram: Cabinet file flow to be streamlined

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Several ministers have expressed strong displeasure about important cabinet files reaching them in the late hours of the day before the cabinet, because of which they hardly find any time to go through the agenda notes to be discussed in the next day's cabinet.
Based on such complaints from the ministers, chief secretary Vishwas Mehta has issued a circular to all the secretaries asking them to ensure that the final draft of the agenda items to be placed in the week's cabinet meeting should be submitted before 5pm on Mondays. "During the meeting of council of ministers held on June 10, the ministers expressed displeasure in circulating the note for the council being sent to them in the late hours of the previous day of the meeting and they are not getting sufficient time to go through the notes," the circular said.
The circular has also made it clear that the notes submitted after the deadline will not be taken up for that week's council meeting but will be deferred for the next week. Also, the secretaries should also brief the chief secretary before forenoon on the previous day of the council meeting about the agenda from their respective departments that are to be considered by the next day's cabinet.