Finance secretary shunted out for talking prudence

Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials at the Maharashtra secretariat are disappointed by the state government's sudden decision to transfer principal secretary (finance) Chitkala Zutsi, especially the manner in which she was shunted out of her post at 11 pm on Saturday night.

Zutsi, who is currently in New Delhi, has been replaced by OP Gehrotra who takes charge as additional chief secretary (finance).

Zutsi is known to have earned the ire of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), alliance partner of the Congress in the Democratic Front (DF) government.

Considering the state's precarious fiscal situation, she had recommended fiscal prudence, in the process antagonising the contractors' lobby. The contractors had recently organised a 'morcha' against her (read stormed her Mantralaya office).

"A few days prior to Diwali, those contractors converged upon the finance department demanding disbursals of nearly Rs 400 crore in outstanding bills for completion of irrigation projects such as those undertaken by the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Irrigation Development Corporation (MKVIDC). Zutsi had agreed to an immediate release of Rs 80 crore towards meeting contractors' dues," a senior government official said.

The NCP, partner in the DF government, holds the crucial irrigation portfolio, now merged under a single water resources department, held by Ajit Pawar, gives credence to the view that the party was behind her ouster.

According to well placed secretariat sources, Zutsi was participating as a member of the state delegation, which is holding talks with the Planning Commission, on Saturday. Even as the day's deliberations had been completed, she was served her transfer orders at 11 pm at her residence.

Zutsi was scheduled to take an early Sunday morning flight to Nagpur to attend the ongoing winter session of the state legislature. She is yet to be given a fresh posting, although the state government may send her on deputation to the Planning Commission.

Even Gehrotra received his posting orders at 11 pm on Saturday night and was directed to rush to Nagpur on Sunday for the state legislature session. No other transfer was effected apart from these two officials.

The state finance department learnt only on Sunday about Zutsi's transfer. Interestingly, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Prabha Rau has dispatched a missive to the state finance department, that reached early on Monday morning which is addressed to Gehrotra.

"The state bureaucracy is now very much concerned, not about the transfer per say but the manner in which it was done, as it sets a precedent for the future. This is being viewed as a message sent to us to either toe the political line or suffer the consequences," a senior secretariat official said.