CHANDIGARH: The Punjab secretariat administration is caught in a vortex of demands with a streak of political overtones. The latest pertains to the allotment of a room to the Deputy Chief Minister, MS Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. She had demanded room No. 28 occupied by Principal to the Chief Minister in the “CMO” on the second floor. The administration examined her request and turned down the same on the grounds of “security.” In fact formal orders were issued Aug.12th “cancelling” the allotment of office room to her on the second floor. She, thus it put in her allotted room 34).
An officer concerned with this exercise ruled that, of late, he had been flooded with requests from ministers for allotment of rooms which they insist must be of their choice, in terms of floor and size. “But we have strictly gone by the rank and order of precedent in which the minister were administered oath on gust 6,” he added. Petty squabble seem to be taking up much of the time of the administration. Only a handful of Ministers attended office Monday. They spent the day either meeting their admirers or discussing the departments headed by their with the secretaries concerned the “real” functioning will begin after August 15.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 14, 1996
