Kolkata: The Bengal government has decided to follow austerity measures till September 30.
The state government had taken up a series of austerity measures on April 2 with a drastic fall in revenue generation due to the nationwide lockdown. As per the April 2 order, the measures had to be followed till June 30.
Now, the state government has extended the same till September 30 as the financial condition is yet to improve to allow expenditure like pre-COVID situation.
With the austerity measures in place, delegation of financial power of the state government's works departments will be from Rs 10 crore to Rs 1 crore while the same for other departments will be Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 lakh.
"The state government has incurred a huge loss of around Rs 5,000 crore per month during the lockdown period. Despite relaxations being given to various activities with the state government's approach of "life and livelihood" to go side-by-side, the revenue generation is yet to revive to the previous state and the blow of the lockdown period on the state's exchequer would take some time to recover," said a senior state government official.
A senior official of the State Secretariat confirmed that the austerity measures will continue till September 30 and will follow the Finance department's order that was issued on April 2.
The state government will continue to ensure timely salaries of its employees. At the same time, all social and welfare schemes will continue. Restrictions on expenditure for renovation and decoration of office buildings, including chambers of officers will continue besides bar of recruitment or engagement of manpower without necessary approval of the Finance department. No new schemes, including construction activities except urgent repair and maintenance will be taken up for the time being and prior approval of the state Finance department needs to be taken if any new scheme is urgently required.