Organization of State Government : Chief

Secretary
Introduction

The chief Secretary is one of the highest officials of the Indian Executive system. Chief Secretary is undoubtedly the
administrative head of state administration in India. He is the ex-officio head of the state the state cadre India
administrative service, the state Civil Services Board, and all civil services that come under the control of the state
government. Chief Secretary is the principal advisor to the Chief Minister on all issues related to state
administration.

Until 1973, the Chief Secretary was not necessarily the senior most civil servant of the state. Certain officers like the
Finance Commissioner in Punjab, were considered senior to the Chief Secretary of the state. In 1973, the post of
Chief Secretary was upgraded, and presently, it is regarded as the most prestigious and influential post in the state
civil service structure.

Appointment

The Chief Secretary is appointed by the Chief Minister of the state. In doing that he normally consults the Union
government, though this consultation is not obligatory. Similarly, Chief Minister may consult the Cabinet Ministers
but the final decision is that of the Chief Minister. Three main factors that are considered by the Chief Minister in
this respect are :

1. Seniority: Generally, the choice is restricted to the first four or five IAS officers according to seniority. The
administrators with 20-25 long years of experience in service have generally been appointed as Chief
Secretaries.
2. Service Record, Performance and Merit: it is carefully observed whether the incumbent is sufficiently
meritorious, possesses the ability to perform functions efficiently and has an excellent service record.
3. Confidence of the Chief Minister: The Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary have to work in close
association with each other, the latter’s personal connection with the Chief Minister is absolutely necessary
factor for his appointment.

Functions/Role

The chief secretary performs a lot of functions. The most important among them are as under:

 The Chief Secretary is the principal advisor to the Chief Minister on all matter of state administration. He
explains the administrative implications of the proposals forwarded by the state.

 He controls and supervise the entire state Secretariat.

 He looks after all other matters for which other secretaries of the State Government are not responsible.

 Being at the apex of the State Secretariat, he heads a number of Committees and is a member of many
others.

 He acts as the Secretary, by rotation, of the Zonal Council of which the state concerned is a member.

 He plays an important role in administration of law and order and planning.

 He act as a residual legatee. i.e., he look after all those matters which do not fall within the purview of other
secretaries.

 He is the principal channel of communication between his state Government, on the one hand, and the
Central Government and other State Government, on the other.

 He receive all important and confidential communications from the central Government and submits them
to the Chief Minister.

 He has administrative control over the Secretariat building, the staff attached to the ministers, the central
record branch, the secretariat library, the conservancy and watch and ward staff of the Secretariat
departments.

 Being the head of the state secretariat, adviser to the Council of Ministers and chief of the State Civil Service,
the Chief Secretary is their mentor and conscience-keeper.

 Chief Secretary acts the chief advisor to the Governor when President’s rule is imposed in the state and if the
central advisors are not appointed.

 He attend the meetings of the National Development Council.

Apart from these functions, the Chief Secretary has five more vital functions to perform. First, he is Secretary to the
State Government in the General Administration Department. This Department is generally concerned with services,
protocol, and related matters , organizations and methods, elections and census, publicity and tourism., foreigners
and passports , emergency, language and Raj Bhawan . The Chief Secretary also acts as the administrative head of
some Secretariat departments. However, there is no uniformity throughout the country in this regard and his
position varies from state to state. In most cases the General Administration Department, Planning Department and
Administrative Reforms Department are directly under the charge of the Chief Secretary. Thus, Chief Secretary is
concerned with various matters affecting the entire business of the state government.

Secondly, he acts as a Secretary to the State Cabinet. He prepares the agenda for Cabinet meetings and keeps
records of its proceedings. In fact, he is in full charge of the business of the Cabinet .

Thirdly, he is the Chief Coordinator of state administration. At the Secretariat level, he works towards enduring
interdepartmental coordination. He advises the Secretaries on inter-departments difficulties. He is the chairman of
coordination committees set up for resolving inter-departmental disputes. He presides over the meeting of the
department’s secretaries. Below the Secretariat level, he presides over the conference attended by Divisional
Commissioners, District Collectors and the head of department of district administration to effect coordination

Fourthly, in the time of crisis like flood, drought, communal disturbances and other, the Chief Secretary plays a very
significant role. He provides guidance and leads the officers and agencies engaged in relief operations. He is
generally a Chairman or an important member of committees set up to take high level policy decisions during a crisis
situation.
Conclusion

In conclusion, we can say that it is unfortunate that a Chief Secretary is often known as Chief Minister’s man and
becomes a person non-grata on change of the incumbent of the office of Chief Minister. Moreover, it may be noted
that a host of personnel matters and several other minute and unimportant administrative details consume a
sizeable chunk of the Chief Secretary’s time.

The Administrative Reform Commission (ARC) is constrained to agree on the matter in which the Chief Secretary has
become burdened with trivial details- it seems unfortunate too that the highest official in the State has to sign
gazette notification of the appointments, promotions, transfers, leave etc. that he has to spend time on minutiae of
protocol, passports, etc.. To rectify this situation, ARC has recommended that this functionary be relieved of the
work of routine nature as well as be provided with appropriate staff assistance. That above all will ensure speedy
implementation of decisions and effective coordination of policies and programmes of the state government.