Uttarakhand bans officials from visiting abroad this fiscal

The directive states that the restriction has been imposed to ensure the implementation of all “flagship projects” of the state government and the Centre before the current fiscal comes to an end

The Uttarakhand government on Friday imposed a blanket ban on visits abroad by all its personnel, including civil servants, to “attend training courses, seminars or for their personal work”.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. (HT File)

“Visits abroad by all personnel of the state government have been restricted so that the implementation of various works is not interrupted before the current fiscal concludes, for which hardly four months are left,” an order signed by chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh, reads.

“(Consequently), visits abroad by all government personnel (including civil servants) to attend training courses, seminars or for their personal work, have been restricted,” it added.

The directive states that the restriction has been imposed to ensure the implementation of all “flagship projects” of the state government and the Centre before the current fiscal comes to an end.

“(Besides), in that short duration, all approvals have to be granted for the financial sanctions for the supplementary budget that is slated to be passed in the assembly’s coming session,” the order stated.

The proposed assembly session is slated to be convened at Gairsain from December 7. “(So), it is mandatory for all officials and employees discharging duties in the field (districts) or at the secretariat to be present so that the implementation of (various projects and) works is not interrupted or delayed.”