PM asks colleagues to cut down on wasteful expenditure

In a bid to dispel any misgivings in the common man’s mind about the government maintaining high expenditure levels while the ‘aam aadmi’ faces increasing pressure on their cash flows due to the fuel price hike, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked his council of ministers and officers to voluntarily cut down on any ‘wasteful expenditure’ and refrain from foreign travel unless absolutely necessary, as economic measures in the face of rising oil prices.
While the PM has asked the Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrashekhar to rigorously scrutinise all foreign as well as local travel proposals to trim down on government expenses on quarterly basis, the finance ministry has come out with elaborate guidelines to ‘ensure fiscal discipline’ amongst ministries and departments. Departments have been asked to refrain from holding conferences in five star hotels, while babus have to switch to low-cost airlines for official travel.
This is the first time when such guidelines have been issued within two months of the Budget being passed. Such measures are usually taken in the third quarter of the year when expenditures of government ministries are reviewed and revised estimates drawn up.
Even though it is an election year when government is at its generous best, no new schemes would be announced apart from what has been promised in the Budget. The guidelines also said there will be no additional expenditure over and above the prescribed budgets for existing schemes and no changes in any schemes will be permitted.
Urging his colleagues to observe austerity and expecting full support from them, the PM in his letter said that spiraling oil prices have imposed a huge burden on the financial resources of the country and as some of this load is borne by the public, it is the “moral duty” of the government to cut down on all unwanted expenditure in its establishments.
“We need to explain to the people the constraints and reasons that have compelled the government to introduce these measures. Simultaneously, however, it is equally necessary for us to introduce the utmost Economy in our own administrations and establishments. It cannot be denied that there is substantial scope to reduce expenditure on travel and administration,” Singh wrote.
“I am, therefore, writing to ask you to severely curtail expenditure on air travel, particularly foreign travel, except in cases where it is deemed to be absolutely necessary. This Economy may be made applicable immediately for your own self and also for all senior functionaries in your Ministry,” Singh wrote. This is not the first time the PM has written such a letter. He had written a similar letter couple of years back.
Reiterating the PM’s concerns, Expenditure Secretary Sushma Nath said, “There is tremendous pressure on government’s resources due to food and fertiliser subsidies, NREGA, rising oil prices, leading to the need for Economy and rationalisation of expenditure.”