Mumbai, March 24 – The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Committee on government assurances, in its first report presented to the house on Tuesday, made scathing observations regarding bureaucratic apathy.
It suggested that departmental secretaries and officers should not skip deliberations but remain present.
Committee Chairman Ravi Rana expressed displeasure over the bureaucracy’s lack of seriousness in attending committee meetings to discuss assurances given in the house and take necessary actions.
The committee recommended implementing a "Red-Yellow-Green" status system for each assurance to track its progress in real time.
It also suggested holding departmental heads (secretaries) accountable if an assurance remains pending without a valid reason for more than six months.
In its report, the committee highlighted that a significant number of assurances made by departments such as Urban Development, Revenue, and Agriculture often remain unfulfilled for years.
It noted that several departments failed to submit their mandatory three-month progress reports after a promise was made.
The report pointed out delays in the direct benefit transfer (DBT) of aid to farmers in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions.
It pushed for the expedited completion of pending irrigation projects that were assured to be finished within the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The report also criticised the slow pace of road connectivity and housing projects, specifically, rural road projects under the Mukhya Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana that were promised in earlier sessions but faced budget bottlenecks, as well as assurances regarding the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and state-specific housing schemes for the urban poor.
Rana’s concern over bureaucratic apathy was supported by BJP legislator Sudhir Mungantiwar, who said that departmental secretaries and officers should be held accountable and take the Assurance Committee's work seriously.
Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar emphasised that legislative committees are the “soul of the House”.
He added that any delay or avoidance of committee meetings by officials is unacceptable and constitutes an attack on the sovereignty of the House, and that strict action will be taken against any official reported absent from future meetings.