The curbs on government spending on certain components such as the purchase of new vehicles have been extended by another year, citing the financial constraints faced by the State.
The Finance department has issued orders saying that the controls on refurbishment of government buildings and purchase of vehicles and furniture for government offices and institutions will be in place for another year from November 8, 2024 given the need to tone down expenditure.
These curbs were initially imposed as part of the expenditure control measures announced in November 2020 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision to extend the curbs by another year has been taken on the recommendations of a committee appointed to assess the financial position of the State, the November 17 order issued by A. Jayathilak, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance), says.
After the initial orders issued in the wake of the pandemic, the State government had extended the expenditure control measures in November 2021, November 2022, and November 2023 citing financial constraints.
In August, the government had decided to cut Plan allocation for 2024-25 by 50%. The same month, the Finance department also directed government departments to keep austerity as well as improved revenue collection in mind when preparing the Budget estimates for the 2025-26 fiscal.
Published - November 22, 2024 06:13 pm IST
