Key ministerial panel meeting records to now contain only important details

NEW DELHI: The minutes of meetings of key ministerial panels, will now only contain a description of the discussion and the outcome instead of minute details of who said what.

This seemingly innocuous change, recently ordered by P Chidambaram while he was the home minister, for the panels-known as Group of Minister (GoM)-headed by him is intended to ensure that the participants, in particular bureaucrats, speak freely.

Ministers and bureaucrats have been cagey in expressing their views in the wake of the 2G scam, in which politicians and civil servants are on trial for alleged corruption, as well as scathing reports by CAG castigating government policies in sectors ranging from coal to aviation.

It's not clear if the new method of record-keeping helped but GoM on spectrum arrived at its decision in three meetings. "The minister would have wanted to discuss and take a decision in one meeting," he said. Another GoM, on setting up a coal regulator, is likely to send its report shortly.

A senior cabinet minister who is also a member of one such ministerial panel said that it's time the government institutionalise such a norm. Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had told ET in an earlier interview that bureaucrats are unwilling to give their opinion in notings. "We have to instill confidence in them," he had said.

Former home secretary G K Pillai said that India could learn from the example of Britain. "They have had a RTI much before us and they are well aware of its impact on decision making," he said. Pillai, a seasoned bureaucrat who has headed several economic ministries dealing with vexed issues says that the fear among bureaucrats and even ministers is now palpable.

A former finance secretary, however, said that although this would enable free discussions, one can always unearth a ministry's stand on an issue as there will be evidence of that in the internal records of the administrative ministries. For instance, the petroleum ministry is reluctance to cut down subsidies or avoid a price rise, often at loggerheads with the finance ministry, will be found out.

"The more controversial the issue, the more the desire to dig out details," he said.