SHILLONG, MAY 27: The Personnel & Administrative Reforms department on Wednesday issued a clarification concerning official foreign trips undertaken by ministers and state government officials.
In the statement, the department said all official visits mentioned in the report had received prior approval from both the State Government and the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
“The official visits are planned months in advance and also need the approval of the Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India,” the Secretary, Personnel & AR Department, said in the clarification.
The statement emphasized that the trips were sanctioned before recent restrictions came into effect. “All the visits mentioned…were approved both by the State Government and the Govt of India before the announcement of the travel restrictions,” it said.
It further clarified that no new foreign visits have been cleared since the restrictions were announced.
“No new foreign visits have been approved after the announcement of travel restrictions by the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the directions issued by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Meghalaya,” the Secretary added.
By Our Reporter
