In a bid to cut down the infamous red tape delaying government's decisions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has laid down new rules of business for bureaucrats, setting deadlines for decisions and fortnightly review of all proposals stuck at any level.
The Cabinet Secretariat has described these rules as "procedural reforms to expedite decision-making in cases requiring consideration by the Cabinet or Cabinet committees."
Till now, there was no time limit for completion of inter-ministerial consultations, except in urgent cases, and proposals used to get stuck if a single ministry or department opted to sit over them.
The new diktat from the PM stipulates that the ministry or department consulted shall communicate its comments about any proposal sent to it within 15 days. In cases with financial implications, the comments have to be communicated within four weeks. Even if the concerned ministry seeks more time to respond, it cannot exceed a deadline of six weeks.
The new rules also empower the sponsoring ministry to move the note to the Cabinet or Cabinet committees after waiting for one week for the response.
The committee of secretaries, expenditure finance committee, public investment board and other appraising bodies have also been given a time limit of four weeks to dispose off the proposals.
Proposals cleared by the appraising bodies shall be placed before the Cabinet or its committees within 60 days. The secretary of the concerned ministry will be required to communicate to the Cabinet Secretary about any delay in this regard beyond 60 days.
The new rules also require the Planning Commission to complete its appraisal within four weeks. "Secretary, Planning Commission will put in place the requisite institutional mechanism for this," the circular of the Cabinet Secretariat said.
All ministries and departments are also required to review the progress of the pending proposals fortnightly and submit the review report to the Cabinet Secretariat.
The handbook on preparation of notes for Cabinet and its committees has been modified to include details of the new time limits decided by the PM. The Cabinet Secretariat has also posted them on its website.
