Kerala plans new rules for ministers’ personal staff; sets curbs on business, travel and social media

Kollam: A 12-point code of conduct and set of guidelines for the personal staff of ministers in Kerala has been proposed following a directive from Chief Secretary Biswanath Sinha.

A report prepared in this regard will be considered by the General Administration Department, which is expected to issue a circular notifying the guidelines soon. Based on this, ministers will issue orders defining the duties and responsibilities of each member of their personal staff in various departments.

As per the proposed guidelines, the Private Secretary will be responsible for the functioning of the minister’s office. Personal staff members who receive salaries fixed by the state government will come under the Kerala Service Rules and the code of conduct applicable to Kerala government employees. The Private Secretary will also be responsible for ensuring discipline among the staff.

Key points of code
The proposed code includes restrictions on personal staff members purchasing assets from the government or selling their assets to government departments and institutions. It also bars family members of personal staff from starting or engaging in any business dealings with departments or institutions under the minister.

The guidelines further state that if a personal staff member had been involved in any business activity or partnership in a firm before joining the minister’s office, such associations should be discontinued.

Personal staff members will also not be permitted to accept donations from any institution, including charitable trusts, that functions under the minister.

Another major provision states that personal staff cannot travel abroad for official or personal purposes without prior permission from the minister. The proposed code also restricts them from making adverse comments on government policies through social media platforms.

Once the guidelines come into force, members of a minister’s personal staff will have to communicate with other ministers and departments only through the Private Secretary.

Apart from a provision in the Kerala Secretariat Office Manual stating that the Chief Secretary will supervise Private Secretaries assisting ministers, there have been no specific rules governing the functioning of ministerial personal staff so far.

The Secretariat Office Manual was introduced during the tenure of the first ministry in Kerala, when ministers’ personal staff members were selected from government departments. At that time, a minister’s personal staff consisted of 10 members. The number has now increased to around 25.

Directive on Cabinet note
Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary has issued a directive to all departments to follow a uniform format while preparing Cabinet notes submitted before Cabinet meetings.

Department Secretaries will have to submit proposals for Cabinet consideration in the newly prescribed format from the next Cabinet meeting onwards, according to the directive.