Haryana chief secy urges bureaucrats to tighten belts

HANDIGARH: Haryana chief secretary Keshni Anand Arora has urged all administrative secretaries to explore austerity measures urgently by identifying the areas where the departments can squeeze the expenditure.

According to the chief secretary, the economy of the state is enduring an “enormous setback” due to the lockdown and the state is facing an “unprecedented resource crunch.”

Before the lockdown was imposed due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Haryana was a revenue surplus state. Now, the state is struggling to release salary and pension on time. Till Friday, a major section of the employees, especially above Class-III, had not received the last month salary.

In this backdrop, the chief secretary, on May 6, wrote letters to all the top-ranking bureaucrats, asking them to inform the finance department as well as her office by May 11 about the steps taken or proposed to be taken to reduce expenditure. “...I request all administrative secretaries to identify areas in which expenditure could be curtailed or rationalised by holding detailed discussions with your head of departments and all other officers concerned,” said Arora in her communication.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the chief secretary has said, “The state government machinery is functioning under extreme stress to provide relief measures. On the other hand, there has been a manifold increase in expenditure on account of upgrade of medical facilities...financial assistance and supply of free ration to the poor and stranded labour.”

Arora said: “The state government has imposed a ban on the purchase of new vehicles and has decided to defer all new recruitment for government jobs for a year.”