Inside The Secretariat: Green Goals, Cadre Moves, Governance Gaps

State Govt Making Push For Green Gujarat

The state government is trying to turn Gujarat into a green state. The government has said that tree saplings were planted on 100 hectares at 85 places in 2023, and 200 hectares at 122 places in 2024. More saplings will be planted across 400 hectares in 2025.

Tree planting is being done using Japan's Miyawaki Method. This method was developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, whose aim is to quickly create forest wealth on less land.

According to statistics from the forest department, 140 crore saplings were planted in the country over the last year, out of which 17.48 crore trees were planted in Gujarat, putting the state in the second rank, according to the government.

According to a report, 15.72 crore saplings have been planted in urban areas of the state, and 1.76 crore in rural areas. These details have been given in the government's Merry Life portal.

Dial 104 for Health Assistance

The state health department has launched an innovative experiment in which online guidance will be provided to any patient in the state. A total of 100 trained call-takers have created this flagship scheme.

The health review centre set up in Gandhinagar includes important services like maternal health, child health, TB, vaccination, PMJAY Scheme, etc.

A 104 helpline number has been created for patients to get health information, advice and suggestions for any disease, as well as to receive complaints, in which counselling, telemedicine advice, suggestions for increasing immunity, consultation with a doctor of the patient sitting at home and e-prescription facility will be available.

A top official of the department said that this centre has been prepared to monitor and comprehensively review the health services provided to the citizens of the state under a single umbrella, which will also work effectively in times of disaster.

Mandatory Training For Promoted Officers

The implementation of the decision has been started for the Class-1 and Class-2 officers taking advantage of promotion or higher pay scale in state government jobs. As per the order of the General Administration Department, the concerned officer will have to undergo one week of mandatory training at a residence or any institution, while the second week of training can be obtained by the officer online.

Not only this, the 20 hours of online training received by the officer on GoI's iGOT Karmayogi, the state government's HRMS, e-Sarkar, or any other online platform prescribed by the state government will also be considered as one week of training.

This training will be organised by Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) or in collaboration with other renowned institutions. It will have to be strictly followed in the case of officers who get promoted or receive a higher pay scale after April 1, 2026.

Critical Staff Shortage In Women & Child Dept

The condition of the Women and Child Development Department in Gujarat has become so pathetic that many posts have become vacant due to the retirement of employees. For some reason, promotions or postings cannot be done in this department, resulting in an increased workload on existing employees. The department has a strength of 476 employees, out of which 240 posts are vacant.

There is talk of women's empowerment in the state, but no immediate steps are being taken to strengthen this department. It is important to note that since Leelaben Ankolia was removed from the post of Chairperson of the Gujarat Women's Commission in 2021, there has been a delay in the appointment of a new chairperson, which is delaying the response to grievances from socially and economically disadvantaged women of the state.

RTI Reform: Good Governance Initiatives Begin

Since some of the recommendations made by the State Information Commission to the state government to resolve the problems faced by applicants under the Right to Information (RTI) Act have been accepted, it seems the government has now started acting upon them.

Now, up to five pages of information will be provided free of cost to any applicant. When information is requested by e-mail or online, information can be sent by taking photos. When the applicant is called for self-inspection of the record, permission will also be given to take photos of the documents or carry them in a portable storage device.

It is important that the records of action taken by the government regarding illegal construction and encroachment, details of approval of various permits, licences, and authorisations issued, will be published automatically, while the applicant will be informed about the status of their application online.

IAS Officer Seeks Cadre Change To UP

Aparajita Aryan, a female IAS officer of the 2024 batch Gujarat cadre, had completed her training and came to Gujarat just a month ago. The government had posted her as an Assistant Collector in Kheda. She was not even set, when she got married to an IPS officer serving in Uttar Pradesh.

Now, this young female officer wants her cadre to be changed to UP cadre, and has expressed her desire to GAD Additional Chief Secretary Kamal Dayani.

The state government will soon allow her to be released. Sources said the process will be without any hassles, as Aparajita is originally from Jammu and Kashmir.

Officers Lobbying For 4 Vacant Posts

Last week, two couples of the Gujarat cadre, ie, a total of four IAS officers, got approval to go on deputation to Delhi. S Chhakchuak was working as MD of Tourism, her husband Supritsingh Gulati as CEO of D-Seg, while Manisha Chandra was Secretary of Panchayat-Gram Development, and her husband, K K Nirala, the Secretary, Finance.

All four have received approval, and are expected to leave for Delhi at any moment. As a result, all their posts have fallen vacant. Other officers, who have been in the loop for upgraded postings for a long time, have started lobbying for these posts, with some having even contacted the CMO.

Officers’ Summer Holidays Nearing End

In summer, many IAS officers go on long holidays with their families. This time too, many officers, including Thennarsan, Vinod Rao, Anupam Anand, and even the CM's Chief Advisor Hasmukh Adhia were on 2-3 weeks' holiday.

Except for Adhia, all other officers have returned and are busy with their duties. Now, other officers have scheduled foreign tours in the last week of this month, but the government has yet to permit them leaves.

It is worth mentioning that due to the tense situation between India and Pakistan, long holidays of all officers had been cancelled. Now that the ban has been lifted, the officers have decided to travel with their families. Permissions have been given to those whose holidays were cancelled.

Cricket Fan IAS Officers Miss Out on IPL Final

Many officers serving in Gujarat are cricket enthusiasts. They often take the opportunity to watch cricket matches on the TVs placed in their chambers, but some officials cannot resist the desire to watch the match in the stadium.

Recently, when the IPL final was held at the Narendra Modi Stadium, many officials were eager to watch the match. Many expected that tickets for the match would reach them gratis.

When that did not happen, they tried "other means" to acquire tickets for the match. Some lucky officials got tickets just by calling up contacts, while others were left without tickets and had to watch the match on TV.

(with inputs from Gautam Purohit and Sanjay Vibhakar)