Manipur cuts down on non-essential expenses amid COVID-19 crisis

The move came after the state put on hold the recruitment processes because of the adverse impact of COVID-19.

The government has decided to cut down on as many as 14 categories of non-essential expenditure including excess authorization over budget provision, commitments on expenditure, ban on recruitment, ban on printing of diaries, coffee table book, purchase of office furniture, equipment, and luxury items among others.

Further, the government also banned the purchase of new vehicles, office furniture-equipment, printings of diaries, coffee table books among others. Most of the seminars, conferences are also to be held via video conferencing.

State Chief Secretary issued an official memorandum stating that the State's economic dislocation imposed by the pandemic has severely affected the resources of the state and it has forced the state government to cut down on non-essential expenditure.

The memorandum also stated that the amount to be incurred on meeting the recurring expenses is likely to a steady increase during the current fiscal year due to particular commitments made by the government including unavoidable expenditure on Covid-19 related activities.

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