There are signs of growing tension between the bureaucracy and their political bosses in the UPA government. Already unhappy over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's proposal to grade each ministry's performance through the introduction of a Results Framework Document (RFD), the ministers are now upset about a fresh directive that curtails their powers to sanction foreign tours of their officials.
In a note issued last month, the expenditure secretary had informed the ministries about an amendment to the rules regarding the sanction of foreign trips of officials. Previously, foreign tours of the officials, irrespective of their rank, had to be approved by the minister concerned. According to the amended rules, officers of joint secretary rank and above will require prior permission from the minister while the trips of director and under secretary-level officers can be approved by the secretary of the ministry. Since the number of junior level officers is larger in number, the new order ends up giving greater powers to the secretary. "This amounts to clipping the wings of ministers," remarked a senior UPA minister, adding that these are among the few powers, which a minister enjoys.
Officials pointed out that a minister could punish or reward a bureaucrat through his powers to write their annual confidential reports, transfers and sanction of foreign trips. However, the well-entrenched bureaucracy has been slowly chipping away at the powers of politicians, which has created tension between the two.
Source: The Tribune By Anita Katyal Ministers upset over grading guidelines
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