GUWAHATI : The Assam cabinet on Wednesday adopted several austerity measures following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for fuel conservation amid the prevailing West Asia crisis, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The decisions were taken at the first cabinet meeting chaired by Sarma in his second term.

”The Assam cabinet went through the appeal made by the PM to save foreign exchange and came out with certain recommendations”, the CM told a press conference.

As part of the austerity measures, the state government decided to downsize the convoy of the governor, CM, ministers and other officials.

It has also been decided that no government official will go abroad for official or private trips for the next six months, except in the case of a medical emergency, he said.

”We have decided not to purchase any new vehicles for the next six months and will encourage scrapping of vehicles in a big way,” Sarma added.

The state government will also reduce fuel expenditure by 20 per cent as compared to the last financial year, he said.

Sarma added that seminars and other physical meetings will be discouraged, with greater emphasis on online conferences and virtual meetings.

Modi had recently urged austerity and fuel-saving measures, warning that the ongoing military conflict in West Asia could trigger a crisis “bigger than the global COVID pandemic.” (Source: PTI)