Fadnavis asks all departments to cut spending by 20 per cent; Ladki Bahin scheme exempt
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has told all departments to cut expenditure by 20 per cent amid drought, sparing education, health, loan waiver and Ladki Bahin funds.
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Maharashtra is facing a drought, and the global economy is also unsteady. To keep the situation under control in the months ahead, the Maharashtra government has taken a major decision. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has instructed all departments to cut their expenditure by 20 per cent.
Funds for education, health, loan waiver and the Ladki Bahin scheme will not be reduced under this cut. Directions have also been issued to avoid unnecessary spending on road and irrigation projects.
Given the drought in the state, moves to rein in government spending had been under way from the start. Several departments had also prepared a roadmap for this. Chief Minister Fadnavis has now told all departments to practise economy. Under this, each department has to plan a 20 per cent cut in its spending.
The shadow of an economic slowdown hangs over the world at present. Across the country, some places face drought and others face unseasonal calamity. Taking all this together, the Maharashtra government has given priority to economy.
Education, health, loan waiver and the Mahayuti government's ambitious Ladki Bahin scheme have been kept out of the economy instructions. In a way, this brings relief to the women beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin scheme. Departments have also been told not to cut the funds required for the schemes of these departments.
For road and irrigation projects, departments have been asked to spend only where it is genuinely needed. The government is stressing the proper use of available funds by deferring unnecessary expenditure.
Drought-relief work has also been given priority. Departments have been told to use the funds required for water supply, water conservation and fodder schemes. Providing funds for these measures during the drought has been given first priority.
Meanwhile, although the government has directed departments to cut spending by 20 per cent, it has not applied these instructions to some key schemes. As a result, questions are also being raised about how much the burden on the state exchequer will actually ease.
