
Maharashtra has cancelled all appointments made in ministers' offices through verbal orders or on loan from other departments. A government resolution (GR) says officials must return to their parent departments by September…
Maharashtra has cancelled all appointments made in ministers' offices through verbal orders or on loan from other departments. A government resolution (GR) says officials must return to their parent departments by September 10 or face salary cuts and disciplinary action. They must also surrender their Mantralaya entry passes.

The GR says officers were appointed directly without the approval of the Chief Minister or the chief secretary, including doctors, stenographers, teachers and engineers. It states these appointees lack ministry work experience, affecting administrative functioning. If ministers need additional officers urgently, a proposal must be sent to the CM through the chief secretary.
The order also criticises the extension of tenures for retired officers of dying cadres on a contractual basis, calling it inappropriate. The state has declared some posts obsolete.
The order targets a systemic problem. Maharashtra's administrative machinery runs on deputation and verbal postings because filling posts through the formal Public Service Commission or department-level transfers is slow and cumbersome. A minister who needs a trusted personal aide often bypasses the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) rather than wait. The September 10 deadline is tight: any official who fails to return faces salary stoppage, which is an unusually blunt financial penalty. The practical impact will depend on how many ministers actually comply and whether the CMO follows through on the threat. If it does, the move will force a real staffing crunch in ministerial offices, potentially slowing the government's own work.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.