Tamil Nadu administration will be in limbo till May 13, when the election result will be announced and the next government takes charge. The state bureaucratic machinery has never experienced such an extended lull and recess. The government will not take any major decisions during this period; there will be no contracts, no review meetings, and no transfers. But yes, there could be lot of pleasure travelling by the babus and ministers.
Except for work related to maintaining law and order, the government cannot float tenders for infrastructure projects or issue work orders to even chosen contractors while the model code of conduct is in force until May 15, two days after the results are declared. Neither can it take a decision on major issues nor release government orders. Even, the meetings to review the progress of ongoing works will not take place during this “holiday”, but then, the reviews did not take place for the last couple of months when the poll process was on
The ever-crowded secretariat wore a deserted look except for the election department and a handful of public relations officials.