Gujarat govt announces austerity measures; urges for virtual meetings, promotes EV use

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government on Friday announced several austerity measures following a cabinet meeting in Gandhinagar. The government said that a new guideline has been issued for judicious use of resources, including avoiding unnecessary official travel, conducting meetings via video conferencing, and promoting use of electric vehicles (EV) in official visits.

The decision came hours after fuel prices were increased across the country by approximately Rs 3 per litre for petrol and diesel, due to supply disruptions and rising crude oil in view of the West Asia war.

The state government's spokesperson Jitu Vaghani in his media briefing said that under the guidance of chief minister Bhupendrabhai Patel and his deputy Harsh Sanghvi, the state has announced several important measures in view of the current world situation.

Warning against "hoardings," Vaghani said that the austerity measures were being taken to curb expenses on fuel such as petrol and diesel so that it reduces foreign exchange outflow.

Some of the measures included conducting meetings through video conferencing, avoiding physical travel. The government said that even in cases of absolute necessity, instead of summoning regional officials for meetings, such meetings should be held through virtual means.

The government has also announced that except under unavoidable circumstances, foreign travel and participation in overseas programmes such as seminars and conferences will be avoided.

Senior officials have been directed not to take non-essential staff if their travel out of state is unavoidable. Similarly, the government has also extended metro train timing till 11 pm.

Earlier, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for austerity, chief minister Patel and deputy chief minister Sanghvi reduced the number of vehicles in their convoy. The government also announced to withdraw convoy facilities for ministers placed under the non-category classification.