The Uttarakhand government has directed officials to seek ministers' approval for the allocation of work relating to departments and get their political bosses' clearances for proposals before they are put up before the Cabinet. This has been done to reduce conflicts between ministers and civil servants. Chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh said that work would be allocated by ministers as per the set rules of business. "Wherever this process is yet to be followed, officials have been asked to get the work relating to departments allocated by the ministers to the officials concerned," he clarified. It is learnt that the state government chose to issue this instruction following complaints by ministers to chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. According to ministers, Rawat was informed that most officials do not take their clearances for proposals pertaining to schemes, projects, and policies before they are put up before the Cabinet. The state bureaucracy has been facing flak from their political bosses for its "rather imperious" ways since the mountain state's formation in 2000. Congress veteran and former CM Harish Rawat went to the extent of accusing the bureaucracy of undermining his authority. "The orders I issue keep moving in circles like jalebis (sweet)," he had famously remarked. Officials refute such allegations. "Politicians want us to approve even the schemes which are not legally tenable or for which the budget is not available," a senior bureaucrat said requesting anonymity. "We turn down such proposals and are instantly accused of undermining the authority of our political bosses."