Flying ministers

It’s not just Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister M K Alagiri who stay away from Delhi, making officials fly down to their native places with loads of files to ensure the ministries function smoothly. Union Minister for Heavy Industries Vilasrao Deshmukh too has joined the same league. As Deshmukh has been in Maharashtra for almost two weeks now, an officer was rushed to Mumbai on Tuesday with some important files, including Cabinet notes, for his approval. The Cabinet notes relate to some long-pending proposals that the ministry wants to put up before the Union Cabinet in its next meeting.