Key state govt slot to fall vacant

Even as less than 24 hours remain for additional chief secretary (finance) O P Gaherotra to retire, Maharashtra has not able to find a senior official to replace Gaherotra at a such a key post.

Geherotra is to retire on Saturday after serving as state's finance secretary for more than two years and bringing state out of the financial troubles.

The part of reason why government has not able to find the successor to Gehrotra is administrative one and part of the reason lies in politics.

There are hardly four officials apart from the chief secretary of the additional chief secretary rank and none of them have experience and training of working in the finance ministry.

The part of the reason lies in the politics as Geherotra's predecessor Chitkala Zutshi who after serving as state's finance secretary for barely 10 months was transferred as she didn't get along with the chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

Technically chief minister has final authority in the appointment of secretaries, but the government is a coalition and the finance ministry is with NCP, so finance minister's consent is equally important.

So theoretically the state government has option of appointing the Zutshi back but question is being asked in the Mantralya corridors, whether she will be appointed once again as finance secretary?

But most mandarins feel that the state government will appoint one of the two principal secretaries in the finance department V K Kanade or Subodh Kumar as the acting finance secretary till it finds 'suitable' candidate.