Agartala, May 25 (IANS) In a bid to save fuel and implement expenditure-control measures, the Tripura government on Monday announced a series of initiatives, including the closure of all government offices on every Saturday and Sunday from now onwards.

After a Cabinet meeting, Transport, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said that all government offices would remain closed on all Saturdays and Sundays.

Earlier, government offices in the state used to remain closed only on all Sundays and on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month.

The Minister said that office timings on working days would now begin at 9.30 a.m. instead of 10 a.m. and continue till 6 p.m. instead of 5.30 p.m. “These measures will reduce electricity and fuel consumption in government offices through strict energy-savings measures,” an official order of the General Administrative Department said.

Minister Chowdhury also announced that the roster system recently introduced for ‘Group C’ and ‘Group D’ employees has been withdrawn with immediate effect. As a result, all government employees will now have to attend the office regularly on every working day.

Earlier this month, the Tripura government had ordered that 50 per cent of Group C and Group D employees would work from home as part of fuel-saving measures.

The government order followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal to citizens and institutions to conserve fuel and increase the use of electric vehicles.

The Minister, who also holds the Tourism portfolio, further said that five posts of Inspector of Small Savings under the Finance Department would be filled through the Tripura Public Service Commission (TPSC).

Addressing the press conference, Chowdhury said that in view of the recent situation in the Middle East and following Prime Minister Modi’s appeal for fuel conservation, the state government had already initiated several expenditure-control measures.

These include conducting official meetings virtually, increasing the use of electric and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) vehicles, reducing the use of vehicles at the administrative level, and avoiding large-scale political and non-political gatherings.

He said that instructions had already been issued to various government departments to ensure strict compliance with these measures.

Chowdhury, who is also the spokesperson of the Tripura government, further informed that the Cabinet had approved recruitment for a total of 81 vacant posts across three departments, including the Information and Cultural Affairs Department and the Public Works Department.

–IANS

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