SHILLONG, MAY 28: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday said he has cancelled all his foreign trips and put on hold 7-8 new travel proposals following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent announcement on austerity measures, adding that only those trips cleared before the PM’s directive were allowed to proceed.
Responding to allegations of foreign trips being undertaken despite the PM’s call for austerity, Sangma clarified that the programmes underway had been in the pipeline for months and had received all necessary clearances prior to the announcement.
“The trips that were cleared politically as well as financially before the Prime Minister’s announcement, those programmes went through as you know programmes take three-four months, sometimes six months to prepare,” the Chief Minister said. He added that bookings, expenditures, and diplomatic arrangements for those visits had already been finalized.
“These were programmes that were already there in the pipeline and hence some of the teams are outside. They have gone as the process was done, bookings were made, the expenditures were incurred and as I said the political clearance was given by Centre also,” Sangma said.
However, he stressed that no new proposals have been entertained since the PM’s directive. “So post Prime Minister’s announcement any new proposals that are coming in for any kind of trips outside are not being entertained,” he said.
Sangma said he had personally halted all overseas travel by state officials. “In fact, I had personally put on hold every single trip outside and though we have not come up with any notification, I am very clear that we had to go as per Prime Minister’s direction as this is in the larger interest of the nation,” he said.
“Therefore, I have stopped all foreign trips post Prime Minister’s announcement.” He reiterated that only pre-approved trips were allowed.
“The ones before that, as I said, have been cleared so those obviously went through since the process was already finalized. But after his announcement, any new proposal that has come for any kind of a foreign trip has been put on hold.”
On the timeline of the cleared trips, Sangma said preparations had begun well in advance.
“It had been prepared for the last three months, five months before the Prime Minister’s announcement. The bookings have been made, the political clearance have been taken from Government of India, the necessary arrangements from the other side to discuss with the government concerned have been taken,” he said.
“Those trips were already cleared before the PM gave that announcement but after he gave the announcement and asked the states not to send delegation, we have not cleared anyone,” Sangma added. “I have received close to about 7-8 new proposals and all of them have been put on hold.”
By Our Reporter
