Shiv Sena ministers raise issue of PA appointments

Mumbai: Shiv Sena ministers on Tuesday raised the issue of pending appointments of private secretaries (PSes), personal assistants (PAs), and officers of special duty (OSDs) for ministers.
They said the appointments were awaiting approval from the CM's office. Nearly three months after being sworn in, ministers are still without full-time staff in their offices.
In a recent govt resolution (GR), the state govt announced that private individuals appointed to the establishment of deputy chief ministers, cabinet ministers, and ministers of state will require written permission from the CMO. Bureaucrats mentioned that a significant number of PSes and PAs from the previous Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) govts were not reappointed, and the CM was eager to give new officers a chance.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis reportedly informed ministers that officers to be appointed should have a clean character, with no corruption charges against them and no pending departmental inquiries. Only such officers will be prioritised. Fadnavis assured ministers that after completing the screening process, orders will be issued as soon as possible.
The general administration department, led by Fadnavis, approved a jumbo secretariat for his office as well as for the offices of deputy chief ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. When Shinde was chief minister, the total strength of the secretariat was 148, which has now been increased to 164.