Administrative Structure: Role & Responsibilities – Chief Secretary, Secretaries and Directorates
Chapter – 10
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
- Chief Secretary is the executive head of the State Secretariat and the administrative head of the state administration.
- Holds the pivotal and pre-eminent position in the state’s administrative hierarchy, standing at the apex of state administration.
- His position is more than primus inter pares (first among equals) among other secretaries and is the chief of the secretaries.
- The Chief Secretary has control over all secretariat departments and guides and controls the entire state administration.
- His role is not technical or professional; he is part of the government process and, in a democratic republic, part of the human process.
- Since 1973, the Chief Secretary is the senior-most civil servant in all states, as per the Administrative Reforms Commission recommendations.
- Prior to 1973, the Chief Secretary’s rank varied:
- In Punjab, he was junior to the Financial Commissioner and a member of the Board of Revenue in UP.
- In Tamil Nadu, he was the senior-most civil servant.
- The office of the Chief Secretary was standardized in 1973, aligning it with the position of Secretary to the Government of India, both in terms of status and emoluments.
ORIGIN OF THE OFFICE OF CHIEF SECRETARY
- The office of the Chief Secretary originated in the Central Government during British rule.
- It was created in 1799 by Lord Wellesley, the then Governor-General of India.
- G.H. Barlow was the first occupant of the office.
- Over time, the office disappeared from the Central Government but was adopted by state governments much before India’s Independence.
APPOINTMENT AND TENURE
- The Chief Secretary is chosen by the Chief Minister from the senior IAS officers of the state cadre.
- The Chief Minister considers three factors in selecting the Chief Secretary:
- Seniority of the officer
- Service record, performance, and merit of the officer
- Trust and confidence in the officer
- The office of the Chief Secretary has been excluded from the operation of the tenure system.
- There is no fixed tenure for this post.
- The Administrative Reforms Commission of India recommended a three to four years tenure for the Chief Secretary, but the recommendation was not accepted and the old system continues.