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Devendra Fadnavis on fast track keeps babus on their toes

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Since taking charge of the state on October 31, Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has been keeping Mantralaya babus on their toes.

The past four weeks have been "very tough" for most IAS officers and their staff, who had until now been used to the 'take it easy' approach.

With Fadnavis being a workaholic himself, keeping up to date on issues, understanding the nitty-gritty of administration, and taking crucial decisions in quick time, his babus have no option but to work at the same pace.

"Usually, a new chief minister takes two to three months to understand the workings, systems and issues before taking any decision. But Fadnavis, who has never even been a minister, didn't take more than a week to set off," said a senior bureaucrat.

Officers point to his series of announcements in the past 25 days, which includes Right to Service Act announced on Day 1, 'Make in Maharashtra' policy for new investments, decentralisation of the transfer policy, and demand for drought relief package from Centre and Bal Thackeray's memorial, among others.

Several meetings, programmes and decisions have also put his media team from the information and publicity department under pressure, issuing press releases from early morning till late night.

Most officials, who are currently attached with the CMO and the ministries Fadnavis has kept with himself, are sweating it out for 10-12 hours daily these days. This excludes the travel time from their homes, some being as far as Virar and Badlapur, to Mantralaya in Nariman Point.

"The extended lunch time is gone. Most days, we have lunch at 6pm, especially when the CM is at Mantralaya, and leave for home as late as 10pm," said an IAS officer.

Another official said, "While the previous government was calm and cool, the new government wants things to be on fast track. It seems to be working hard to prove its efficiency and quick decision-making."

The winter assembly, which will be held in Nagpur from December second week, has put extra burden on these officers.
While BJP leaders insisted this is "minimum government, maximum governance", as proposed by them during elections, a Congress functionary dismissed the party's claims, calling the Fadnavis-led government "minority" and "short-term".

Image-conscious CM follows in PM's footsteps
Devendra Fadnavis wants to communicate with people personally, just like PM Narendra Modi, through his Twitter handle and blog, even though there is an official Twitter account of the CMO, said one of his team members.
The new CM is also said to be more image-conscious than the previous CMs and keeps a close tab on news reports, which may dent his or his government's image. Recently, two vernacular media houses were sent rejoinders for their reports related to the government's stand on Maratha reservation and LBT issues pre- and post-elections. "The previous government would have hardly cared. Even when we would point out some reports, their answer would be a typical 'let media do their job as we were doing ours' one," said an officer.

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