PC changes North Block forever in just 2 months

Two months back when finance minister P Chidambaram took over the home portfolio amid chaos and confusion following 26/11, little did he know that he would go down in history as the man who changed North Block forever.

From the laid-back-anything-goes work culture under Shivraj Patil, the home ministry has become the busiest department with officials running to and fro to meet strict deadlines.

Completing two months in office on January 31, Chidambaram has been successful in inculcating in his men the importance of time. But he is still struggling to introduce a degree of accountability in his department. Reigning in the babus was his first and foremost priority other than putting in place a security network to prevent Mumbai-like terror attacks.

To set an example, Chidambaram  makes sure he is in his seat at 9am. The pressure is visible with the minister setting tight deadlines for officials to complete their assignments. “It’s not hours or days for us, we are working in micro seconds,” an official said.

Chidambaram occasionally stumps everyone with his in-depth knowledge of all the officials in his department. Senior officials were recently surprised when during a
conclave of chief ministers of seven Maoist-ravaged states, he asked for an officer, who was in charge of development projects in affected districts. Sources said even senior officials were not aware about this official.