Big measures by Yogi! Ban on buying cars, no exec class air travel, no luxury hotel meetings for government officials

There seems to be no end in sight to the Covid-19 pandemic as it continues to shake up the economy and thereby cause major loss in revenues. Now, to deal with this unprecedented situation in view of the plummeting revenues in the lockdown, UP CM Yogi Adityanath has announced some big austerity measures in Uttar Pradesh for the state's government departments and officials.

Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Sanjiv Mittal, who also heads a committee on augmenting financial resources, has issued a list of the new austerity measures. Mittal said that as the state's revenues have recorded a drastic fall, there was no option but to resort to austerity measures. Here are FULL DETAILS:-

- No ambitious project would be launched in the state

- There would be ban on buying cars and also on air travel in the executive class by the government officers

- Besides, no new posts would be created to put an effective check on the government expenditure.

- Instead of undertaking tours, officers would be advised to hold meetings through video conferencing.

- Officials have been asked not to use luxury hotels for holding conferences, seminars and meetings, but to utilize the government buildings for such events.

- Officers have been asked to identify posts that have become obsolete due to the advent of technology and deploy the staff elsewhere.

- No new construction will be initiated though completion of existing under-construction projects will be allowed.

- Appointments of advisors and chairpersons in various departments have also been stopped.

- In view of the fund shortage, the state's share in the Centrally sponsored schemes would be given in instalments.

Notably, these austerity measures have come close on the heels of the Yogi government's decision of scrapping various allowances of UP government employees. The government had deducted several allowances of its 16 lakh employees and frozen development funds of MLAs and MLCs. Salaries and allowances of ministers were also slashed to ease the burden on the exchequer.