Government officials foreign jaunt norms made stringent
Officials should submit 4 weeks prior to the scheduled date of the journey
By : r. ayyappan
Update: 2014-10-14 04:05 GMT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When it comes to the foreign jaunts of bureaucrats, strict guidelines brought out by the government remain on paper. Top government officials travel at will and without conforming to certain procedures. Now, at a time when revenues are drying up, the state government has decided to strictly enforce the tight rules on travelling outside.
“The government has laid down detailed procedures for issuing sanction for foreign tours of officials. Despite these instructions, it has been observed that the proposals for tours abroad are not submitted for approval before the government in time and in some cases, foreign travel had already been undertaken by the officials and come up late for ex-post factor approval of government,” Mr K.M. Abraham, additional chief secretary (finance).
In a circular issued on October 8, it has once again been stressed that the proposals for visit abroad should be submitted to the government at least four weeks prior to the scheduled date of commencement of the journey.
The officials on their part seem to rebel at the exacting questions asked in the pro forma they need to submit before their travel. The pro forma asks details of the tasks to be accomplished during the visit. Perhaps more frustrating are the personal queries. It asks them to record every single detail of their expenditure during their stay outside, right from airfare to the money they spent on gifts. They should also reveal the name of their host. What’s more, on return, the bureaucrat has to submit a report on the immediate outcome of the visit.
It is further directed that for submitting the proposal for any subsequent visit abroad, the efforts made to realise the intended outcome of the earlier visit should also be detailed.