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| Parliament panels to cut expenses |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi Sep 12, 2009, 00:22 IST |
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Widening the ambit of its austerity drive in the face of the economic slowdown and drought condition, the Manmohan Singh government has proposed that department-related standing committees of Parliament should no longer hold their meetings outside the national capital, to cut transpiration and accommodation costs.
An undeterred Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who has already received flak from some Cabinet colleagues for the government’s austerity measures, said the government had communicated this to the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha chairman.
“Holding meetings of the 24 standing committees in Delhi would not only cut down the costs, as all the members have their own official houses and vehicles for use, but also ensure higher attendance in the meetings,” Mukherjee told members of the Indian Women’s Press Corps during an interaction.
He said only three committees — Public Accounts Committee, Estimates and the Committee on Public Undertakings — were exempt from this instruction, in view of the nature of their work.
Besides, Mukherjee clarified that while Union ministers had been asked to avoid domestic air travel in business class for short distances, they were free to fly upper class on international flights.
Mukherjee clarified that a 10 per cent cut in salaries, proposed by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, was directed only at Congress ministers and MPs.
He said the officialdom has been asked to avoid holding conferences and meetings in five-star hotels and use state-of-the-art official complexes for these.
“This, however, does not mean that you cannot have lunch or dinner parties in a hotel,” he quipped.
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