Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to appoint integrated financial advisors in all departments as part of a major administrative reform to reduce bureaucratic delays, speed up file processing, and improve project implementation.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister V D Satheesan.
Announcing the decision at a press conference here, the CM said the reform was modelled on a system introduced by the Centre in 1974 and was intended to ensure faster decision-making while maintaining financial scrutiny.
"Many files are routinely referred to the finance department, including a large number that need not be sent there. In several cases, departments forward files without adequately examining financial rules and procedures. This leads to delays in government decision-making, slows project implementation, and creates administrative hurdles," he said.
Under the new system, every department will have an integrated financial advisor, who will be a finance department officer of at least joint secretary rank.
The advisors will scrutinise proposals and provide financial guidance to departmental secretaries before files are processed, ensuring that financial oversight is available within the departments themselves.
The CM said the move would effectively decentralise certain powers currently exercised by the finance department and accelerate administrative processes across the government.
He said finance department officials would serve as financial advisors and that the reform would not entail any additional expenditure for the state government.
Describing the decision as a "revolutionary administrative reform", the CM expressed confidence that it would bring about significant improvements in governance and project execution.
"Through this mechanism, financial scrutiny will remain intact while delays caused by repeated referrals to the finance department will be minimised. We expect this to bring substantial improvements in administrative efficiency," he added.
