Bhopal, June 26 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary Anurag Jain, on Thursday, chaired a high-level meeting with the heads of the departments and held a discussion on the newly introduced Public Service Promotion Rules approved by the state Cabinet.

During the meeting, Chief Secretary Jain directed all department heads to accord top priority to promotion-related work.

He also directed heads of the departments that efforts should be made to ensure the promotion of officers and employees by July 31, 2025.

Chief Secretary Jain said that the implementation of these rules would resolve a long-standing issue that has persisted for nine years.

He also noted that employee welfare, in line with the state government’s intent, should be treated as a key priority.

“The rules have been carefully crafted through the diligent efforts and in-depth discussions by the Senior Secretaries’ Committee and officers from the General Administration Department. Their enforcement will lead to greater administrative efficiency,” Jain said in a statement to the media.

He also addressed queries raised by officers from departments such as Police, Women and Child Development, Urban Administration, Scheduled Caste Development, Transport, and Forests during the discussion.

The high-level meeting held amid a section of state government employees expressed disappointment, accusing the state government of being biased.

On Wednesday, employees at the State Secretariat were seen wearing caps with protest slogans while on duty.

Notably, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav-led state Cabinet on June 17 approved the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Promotion Rules, 2025.

Provisions include 20 per cent reservation for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 16 per cent for Scheduled Castes (SC).

In view of the possibility that any employee union or government servant of the state may file a writ petition in the High Court to challenge the Cabinet’s decision, the General Administration Department (GAD) of the state government had filed a caveat last week.

The Madhya Pradesh government has cleared the door for promotion of government employees after a gap of nine years, despite the one party (BJP) has been in power in the state for past 20 years, except for 18 months of the previous Kamal Nath-led Congress government.

Chief Minister Yadav had earlier said that with promotions, the lower rank posts will get vacant, making way for fresh recruitments.

He had also added that due weightage will be given to seniority, and among senior officials, those obtaining the minimum qualifying marks will be eligible for promotion.

For Class I government officers, a merit-cum-seniority principle will apply, he said.

–IANS

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