Maharashtra govt sets up chief secretary-led panel to screen proposals during MLC poll code

The Maharashtra government has constituted a highlevel screening committee headed by the chief secretary to examine administrative proposals that may require relaxation or guidance while the Model Code of Conduct MCC is in force for the upcoming Legislative Council elections in five constituenciesThe committee will scrutinise proposals from government departments before they are forwarded to election authorities according to a circular issued by the General Administration Department on MondayThe move comes after the Election Commission of India ECI announced on September 22 the schedule for biennial elections to five Maharashtra Legislative Council seatsElections scheduled for five constituenciesThe elections will be held for three Graduate constituencies mdash Aurangabad Pune and Nagpur mdash and two Teachers constituencies mdash Amravati and PunePolling for the five seats is scheduled for October 23 The Model Code of Conduct came into force immediately following the announcement of the election schedule and applies to the constituencies going to the pollsDuring the period in which the poll code remains in force government departments are required to comply with restrictions governing policy announcements administrative decisions and other proposals that could fall within the scope of the MCCThe screening committee has been created to examine such proposals and determine whether they need to be referred to election authoritiesDepartments barred from directly approaching election authoritiesAccording to the General Administration Department circular government departments and offices have been prohibited from submitting proposals directly to the ECI or the State Chief Electoral Officer CEO during the election periodInstead departments will first have to examine their proposals internally and provide justification if they believe a particular matter is urgent and cannot be deferred until the election process is completedThe screening committee will then examine proposals before deciding whether they should be forwarded to the election authorities for further considerationDepartments must evaluate proposals internally and establish clear justification for why the work is urgent and cannot be postponed during the code period Proposals cleared by the screening panel will be forwarded to the CEO who will submit them to the ECI with recommendations the government circular statedChief secretary to head screening committeeThe chief secretary will serve as chairperson of the screening committee Other members include the Additional Chief Secretary Services the Additional Chief Secretary Finance and the administrative secretary of the department concerned with the proposal under considerationThe composition of the committee is intended to allow administrative and financial aspects of proposals to be examined before they are referred to election authoritiesDepartments seeking clearance during the MCC period will therefore have to route eligible proposals through the screening mechanism instead of directly approaching the CEO or the ECICommittee to remain until election process endsThe committee will function only for the duration of the election process according to the circularOnce the elections are completed and the Model Code of Conduct ceases to be in force the screening committee will automatically stand dissolvedWith inputs from PTI