'Maharashtra will have to work harder'

That, in effect, was the message DK Sankaran, who retired as chief secretary of the state last week, had for the state administration.

Maharahtra still has one of the best administrations in the country but it needs to prepare itself to face the ever-increasing expectations of the people, he said.

A 1970 batch IAS officer, Sankaran served as chief secretary for a year.

“Our administration is good but that is not enough, as everything around us is changing. Globalisation is catching on.

Governments are expected to do much more than they are used to,” he said.

He said he enjoyed his tenure with the government and his choice for civil service instead of a private bank job 35 years ago was right. “I have retired from government service, not work. I am yet to plan what to do next but will surely be working,” he said with a smile.

Referring to his drive to clear files the Mantralaya cleared 1.82 lakh pending files in a year he said he could do this because of support from the administration.

“It was a good job,” agreed Johny Joseph, who has now taken over as chief secretary.

Sankaran also counted pushing the Mumbai makeover plan, implementing the Prime Minister’s package for Vidarbha’s farmers, and controlling outbreak of Bird Flu in North Maharashtra among his achievements.

He admitted the administration’s response to the 26/7 deluge was not good enough. “But we learnt our lessons and responded well after the blasts.

Senior officers were sent to work with emergency staff, compensation was distributed to the affected families without bureaucratic delays.”

He sought to justify state’s mounting debt, which has gone up to Rs 1.34 lakh crore, saying that the state could afford to have so much debt, as its growth rate was good.