Mumbai, April 3 (IANS) The Maharashtra General Administration Department (GAD), which functions under the Chief Minister, has decided to restrict the large‑scale appointment of Information Technology (IT) and non‑IT consultants across government departments, corporations and authorities.

As per the government resolution (GR), no department will be allowed to appoint more than two Information Technology (IT) consultants. Furthermore, the appointment of other consultants can only proceed after the concerned departments, corporations, and authorities follow a strictly prescribed process.

It has been observed that a significant number of consultants are being appointed under the guise of providing “advisory services” in various government departments, regional offices, corporations, and authorities. There has been a notable rise in the trend of appointing retired officials to these roles, said the government resolution (GR).

“Every department is now restricted to a maximum of two IT consultants. This limit is mandatory for all departments, corporations, and authorities. Departments that currently have more than two consultants may continue their services until April 30, 2026. However, the department has explicitly stated that from May 1, 2026, under no circumstances shall more than two IT consultants remain in service,” said the GR.

Prior approval from the Directorate of Information Technology is now mandatory for the appointment of any type of consultant. The responsibility for strict compliance with these instructions lies with the respective department heads and office chiefs.

The GR specifies that the limit on the number of IT consultants will not apply to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the Deputy Chief Minister’s Office, the Chief Secretary’s Office, the Information Technology Department and the Directorate of Information Technology.

The government’s move comes days after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last week emphasised that all departments must function based on the three pillars of transparency, strict timelines, and reliability to ensure that citizens receive the benefits of all schemes through a single platform and to achieve the goal of a “Viksit Maharashtra”.

He was speaking during a ceremony organised to honour excellence under the “150-Day E-Governance Reform Program.” Heads of departments and service personnel who demonstrated outstanding performance during this initiative were felicitated with certificates by the Chief Minister.

CM Fadnavis directed the Information Technology (IT) Department to implement the ‘One State, One Portal’ concept. To eliminate the confusion caused by multiple government websites, the IT Department has been tasked with creating a single integrated portal for all services. He stressed that making government facilities easily accessible to citizens must be a top priority.

–IANS

sj/skp