Chennai: With a view to tide over the financial crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, the Tamilnadu government today ordered massive cuts in expenditure, while stopping Leave Travel Concession (LTC) to all its staffs and teachers for the current fiscal.
A Government Order (GO) issued by Chief Secretary K Shanmugam said as part of the economy measures and resource moblisation efforts, the government decided to curtain certain avoidable expenditue during the current financial year and the allocations made in the budget estimates 2020-21 under all demands for grants would be reduced as the cuts imposed.
It said as the travel needs to be minimised and reduced in view of the 19 pandemic, the LTC was deferred for all categoroies of employees and teachers with immediate effect.
It also imposed a total ban on presentation of gifts, bouquets, shawls, mementoes, garlands and similar articles, including official functions, gatherings, including conferences, seminars and workshops and other cultural programmes of more than 20 persons, except for official review meeting.
The government also imposed a total ban on all official lunches, dinners and entertainment.
The economy control measures was being introduced as the revenue receipts and the revenue expenditure assumed in the budget estimates have been drastically affected by the unprecedent COVID-19 outbreak since March this year and the government has been facing a huge shortfall in the receipts due to the pandemic and the consequent measures to contain it.
“There are mounting additional expenditure commitments towards containment, prevention, relief and mitigation activities”, it said, adding, after a detailed study of the current situation, the government decided to take necessary action to minimise the fiscal stress so that expendutre on welfare schemes and capital workers were ensuredt o revive the economy, it added
The expenditure control measures ordered should be enforced strictly and scrupulously by the departments of Secretariat, the Heads of Departments (HoDs) and CEOs of PSU, autonomous board, local bodies,
Universiies etc.
The GO said the Secretarties to Government and HoDs should be personally responsible for enforcing the economy measures and should give suitable instructions to the subordinate officers, while re-allotting the budget provisions whenever required, to conjtrol and restrict the expenditure within the limit set in this GO and ensure that no deviation from the economy measures occurred.
The economy control measures were :
* Flat 20 per cent cut in overall budgeted amount on office expenses and other contingencies,
* 50 per cent cut in office expenses, purchase of furniture
* 25 per cent cut in advertising and publicity, exhibition
* 50 per cent cut in hospitality/entertainment expenditure
* 25 per cent cut in machinery and dequipmens, except for essential service providers like Health and Family welfare
* Fire and Rescue services and externally aided projects
* Total ban on purchase of new vehicles, except for emergency services like medical, ambulatory services, police and fire services, VVIP security
* Trainings, except COVID-19 related ones, all other trainings, including training abroad is avoided
* 25 per cent cut in printing charges
* 25 per cent cut in purcahse of computer/acessories
* Permission for official travel should be restricted only to absolutely essential official requirements
* Ban on foreign travel at government expenses,
* Ban on air travel within the State unless the airfare is less than or equal to the eligible train fare
* Journey by air outside the State is also restricted and Resident Commissioners of Tamilnadu House in Delhi should be deputed to attend Central government meetings as far as possible,
* Permissible rates of DA reduced by 25 per cent
* General transfers put on hold for 2020-21, except on administrative grounds by an authority higher than the authority normally empowered to transfer and only mutual request transfer be allowed to minimize expenditure on transfer travel expenses.