The Maharashtra Chief Secretary has ordered the immediate cancellation of the appointments of officers and employees made in Ministerial Offices and State Departments on deputation, on a loan basis, or merely by oral orders, without following the prescribed procedure.

In a circular issued on Tuesday (August 25, 2026), Chief Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal directed that all such officials and employees must be sent back to their parent offices by September 10.

It said “appointments were being made without following the prescribed procedure. A large number of technical personnel, including doctors, stenographers, teachers and engineers, had also been appointed. Many of them lacked training or experience in Ministerial work, affecting the functioning of the Mantralaya and established administrative processes.”

“These appointments were made without obtaining the required approvals of the parent Ministerial Department, the Additional Chief Secretary (General Administration/Services), the Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister,” according to the circular.

The State Government noted that such appointments also made it difficult for both the borrowing and parent offices to fill vacant posts. This adversely affected the functioning of the parent departments and created administrative difficulties. It also resulted in the training received by personnel in their parent departments going to waste.

Another concern was that appointments made on deputation or oral instructions did not involve verification of integrity certificates, character certificates, confidential reports, departmental inquiries and other service-related matters.

The circular said such verification was necessary because Ministerial and Ministerial office work was administrative and highly sensitive in nature. It also termed the contractual extension of retired officers and employees belonging to cadres declared obsolete or "dying cadres" inappropriate.

Under the new directions, heads of offices and drawing and disbursing officers have been asked to submit by September 15 reports confirming that officials whose appointments were cancelled have joined their parent offices.

If an employee fails to report to the parent office, the concerned office has been directed to stop their salary. The Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary or Secretary of the concerned department must submit a report to the Chief Secretary's office by September 20.

The circular further directs that identity cards, face-recognition and attendance facilities linked to such cancelled appointments be discontinued immediately. It also warns that any recurrence of such appointments in future could invite action under the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1979.

For future appointments to Ministerial offices, the State Government has directed that the procedure prescribed by the General Administration Department be strictly followed.

Where additional sanctioned posts are required, proposals for increasing, upgrading or restructuring posts and raising pay scales must be submitted for the Chief Minister's approval. Such posts must then be filled only through the prescribed procedure, it said.

The circular also requires proposals for appointments outside the regular Ministerial cadre to be routed through the prescribed General Administration Department process and approved by the Chief Minister. It specifically directs that officers and employees from subordinate offices should not be appointed on loan or on an oral basis.

The State Government has also ordered a review of vacant posts in Ministerial departments in accordance with their sanctioned staffing structures. It has called for consideration of a separate administrative mechanism for managing Ministerial manpower, resolving service-related issues and maintaining administrative discipline.