Hyderabad: The AP government has set a record of sorts in the matter of foreign visits. In the 18 months since June 2014, about 100 IAS and IPS officers apart from the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues have visited more than 30 countries.
The most preferred destinations were Singapore, the US, Japan and South Korea. The most well-travelled IAS officers were P.V. Ramesh, Mr Ajay Jain, Mr B. Sreedhar and Mr S.S.Rawat. Join-ing them were ministers P. Narayana and Yana-mala Ramakrishnudu. The foreign visits were made to attract investments for AP and study leading cities to construct the new capital Amaravati and to attend seminars, among others.
While the government has spent crores on these foreign visits. the AP Capital Region Development Authority has spent about Rs 4 crore to send its officers abroad to study different world capitals for best practices.
Also in the list of travellers were vice-chancellors, some district level officers and commissioners of municipal corporations. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has visited Singapore, Japan, China, and South Korea. He has been accompanied every time by his Cabinet colleagues. Dr Narayana and Mr Ramakrishnudu and IAS officers P.V. Ramesh, Ajay Jain, S.S. Rawat and Satish Chandra.
Mr Ramesh, AP finance principal secretary, said at a conference headed by chief secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao that official visits to foreign countries by IAS officers should be streamline. He pointed out that officers were increasingly travelling overseas on duty.
As a part of austerity measures, the state government has asked IAS officers to travel between Hyderabad and Vijayawada by road or train to attend meetings arranged by Mr Naidu. At the same time, the government has paid Rs 90 crore for IAS officers and others to travel abroad, apart from daily allow-ance for going to Vijayawada and returning home.
officials told to travel by road
The state government has decided to purchase two buses exclusively for IAS and IPS officers to travel to review meetings called by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at Vijayawada and back to Hyderabad. They have been barred from air travel.
During a video conference that Mr Naidu held with officials on Saturday ahead of the third phase of Janmabhoomi - Maa Vooru, finance department officials suggested purchasing the two buses.
They said that they have paid about Rs 90 crore towards TA and DA charges to the officers. They said the government was spending more money as the officers are flying between the two cities. The CM accepted the proposal.
