Express News Service
LUCKNOW: The novel way to allocate personal staff to newly appointed ministers of Yogi cabinet 2.0 through a computer draw hit a roadblock when several ministers reportedly requested the secretariat administration department to depute males as their personal secretary and assistant personal secretary citing practical constraints of working with female staff.
Notably, the secretariat administration had increased the strength of women in personal staff by 20 per cent to be allocated to the ministers who assumed charge on Tuesday and Wednesday.
However, the principal secretary, of the secretariat administration department Amrit Abhijaat confirmed that some ministers had expressed reservation over the deployment of women staffers as personal staff. He claimed that those who had problems would be given alternatives.
In the meantime, the majority of the selected staff have been deputed at the office of the ministers who had assumed office. As per sources, contrary to the recommendation that no old staff would be given to the ministers in the new cabinet, a number of old ministers wished their previous staff to be attached with them for smooth functioning. Their requests had been forwarded to the CM office, added the sources.
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Meanwhile, even the women staff had also expressed their limitations in working with ministers as personal staff for the challenges like working for longer hours, travelling outstation and dealing with the public.
According to the Sachivalaya Association, some 2,500 personnel in different cadres such as review officers, personal secretary and their assistants work in the state secretariat. Of these only about 15% are women. So far, women staff have worked with bureaucrats but not politicians.
