Bengal govt announces austerity measures

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Curbs on frequent travel of officials to Delhi and other states, holding conferences and meeting at star hotels are among the measures announced by the West Bengal government to curtail "avoidable expenditure" of different departments, a senior government official said.

The 'Circular of Economic Measures', issued yesterday, spelt out the other measures such as using video conferencing instead of calling district officials to Kolkata, he said.

It also imposed restrictions on the creation of new posts, purchase of new vehicles and offering expensive gifts, he said.

The circular, signed by chief secretary Malay De, also stipulated minimum expenditure on the decoration of meeting venues and offering simple lunch packets, the official said.