Austerity is a hard habit for Ministers to pick up

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Ministers agree with him that they should spend their official perks austerely. The trouble is that it would be a tough act to follow for the Ministers.

Singh has written to his ministers and Chief Ministers of all states, asking them to cut down on foreign travel and the use of official vehicles. The Union Finance Ministry has asked all other ministries to refrain from conferences at five star hotels.

Singh wants the entire nation to conserved fuel. “Each one of us can conserve energy and contribute to national security. I urge every citizen to conserve energy at every step, every minute of the day. Be it petrol, diesel, kerosene, LPG, electricity or even water-let us learn to save and use efficiently,” he said on Wednesday after the Government raised the prices of petroleum fuels.

But spending and travelling is a major activity of Ministers. UPA ministers had logged in more than one crore km of foreign travel till November 2007, according to official documents accessed using the Right to Information Act. The money spent was of course the taxpayer’s.

Commerce Minister Kamal Nath travelled the most, spending 14 months of the 42 months of his tenure abroad. His foreign trips cost the nation Rs 1.81 crore.

Cabinet Ministers get three-five cars in their cavalcades, depending on their security consideration. Reducing the number cars won’t make Ministers happy.

Publicly though Ministers say they would follow the Prime Minister’s wish in letter and spirit. "I support the Prime Minister-see my fuel is being wasted because I am talking to you," said Railways Minister Lalu Prasad when CNN-IBN asked for his comments.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyo Ranjan Dasmunshi wanted Ministers to fly less. "The Prime Minister’s directive must be obeyed in letter and spirit. Ministers should stop flying around," he said.

Ministers are not expected to leave their cars and travel on bicycles but the common man would be impressed if they cut down the size of their cavalcdes.