Facing fund crunch,Tripura govt starts austerity drive

He said while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh praises Tripura for its financial discipline and management,when it comes to bailing us out,he remains silent. Sarkar said although he had met Singh several times in the last few months and sought a special Rs 13,600 crore package,nothing seems to be happening.

The Prime Minister says he has problems. But my problem is that neither can I stop development work,nor are we allowed to borrow from the market. The Prime Minister also assured me he would take up the matter with the Planning Commission,but nothing has happened so far, Sarkar said.

We have been forced to go for a massive austerity drive. Government employees have been asked to use both sides of paper to cut down expenditure. Strict orders have been issued to use minimum electricity. While government telephones have been fitted with locks,use of cars has been curbed, he said.

Sarkar said restrictions have also been imposed on officers flying to Delhi. The Centre keeps calling five to six officers to Delhi every month. But we hardly send one. That way,even if we can save Rs 1 crore per month,it is a big saving, he told The Indian Express.