Mumbai: The new Mahayuti govt has embarked on a mission to cut expenditure during the one-week winter session of the state legislature beginning in Nagpur from Dec 16.
According to an order issued by joint secretary (general administration) Smita Niwatkar, all departments have been asked to cut manpower deployment for the Nagpur session at least by 20% so that the overall expenditure on accommodation, food and transport is largely reduced.
A senior bureaucrat said since the session will be only for a week, all department heads have been directed to ensure only the essential staff is deployed. “If a list of manpower deployment has already been decided, it should be immediately cut by 20% and accordingly a final list of employees sent to the Chief Secretary’s office by Dec 9,” he said.
The bureaucrat said reducing manpower will help reduce the pressure on providing accommodation and transport. “The CS herself has reduced the deployment from her office by 20%. Accordingly, it is expected that all heads of the department will follow the directives in letter and spirit. The Nagpur divisional commissioner has been authorized to take a decision on manpower requirement,” he said.
According to estimates, at least 2,000 employees from Mantralaya and surrounding areas are deployed for the Nagpur session, besides 4,000 police personnel. The bureaucrat said at a time when the state debt burden has crossed Rs 9 lakh crore, the CM will have to draft a new strategy to tackle it and resource mobilisation. In 2014, when he took over the reins of the state, the CM had expressed concerns over the financial situation.