Ministers stay back to save public money
After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked his colleagues to cut down foreign trips to save public money, most ministers have decided to stay back in the Capital and bear the heat of Delhi’s summer.
By ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: For ministers of the UPA government, his wish is their command. After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked his colleagues to cut down foreign trips to save public money, most ministers have decided to stay back in the Capital and bear the heat of Delhi���s summer.
Prominent among them are finance minister P Chidambaram, tourism & culture minister Ambika Soni, petroleum minister Murli Deora, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and panchayati raj minister Mani Shankar Iyer. May, June and July are the months in which politicians and officials love to travel out of the country to escape the heat of Delhi. It is also a lean period for political activities.
Some ministers went a step further by renouncing their official facilities. One such person, minister of state for finance and parliamentary affairs, Pawan Kumar Bansal surrendered one of the official cars to save on fuel cost and even refused to move into a bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi.
The move is also advertised through the official communication channel (Press Information Bureau). ���In response to the call by the prime minister for austerity, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, minister of state for finance and parliamentary affairs has surrendered the official car attached to him on his assumption of the office of minister of state in the ministry of parliamentary affairs. Already, Mr Bansal continues to live at the old residence allotted to him as MP and has not moved to a bungalow as per the entitlement of a minister.
Many ministers have missed important global meets even before the formal directive was issued. Mr Deora, who was supposed to lead a delegation to Tokyo to attend the energy ministers��� conference cancelled his trip in view of pressing issues at hand in India. ���Mr Deora had already cancelled his visit even before the said directives were issued,��� an official source said. Defence minister A K Antony in his austerity drive decided to give a skip to a defence bilateral meet in Japan.
Prominent among them are finance minister P Chidambaram, tourism & culture minister Ambika Soni, petroleum minister Murli Deora, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and panchayati raj minister Mani Shankar Iyer. May, June and July are the months in which politicians and officials love to travel out of the country to escape the heat of Delhi. It is also a lean period for political activities.
Some ministers went a step further by renouncing their official facilities. One such person, minister of state for finance and parliamentary affairs, Pawan Kumar Bansal surrendered one of the official cars to save on fuel cost and even refused to move into a bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi.
The move is also advertised through the official communication channel (Press Information Bureau). ���In response to the call by the prime minister for austerity, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, minister of state for finance and parliamentary affairs has surrendered the official car attached to him on his assumption of the office of minister of state in the ministry of parliamentary affairs. Already, Mr Bansal continues to live at the old residence allotted to him as MP and has not moved to a bungalow as per the entitlement of a minister.
Many ministers have missed important global meets even before the formal directive was issued. Mr Deora, who was supposed to lead a delegation to Tokyo to attend the energy ministers��� conference cancelled his trip in view of pressing issues at hand in India. ���Mr Deora had already cancelled his visit even before the said directives were issued,��� an official source said. Defence minister A K Antony in his austerity drive decided to give a skip to a defence bilateral meet in Japan.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
