New Delhi: You may have seen Union Cabinet ministers and UPA MPs thumping their desks in approval of Finance Minister P Chidambaram's union Budget for 2007-08. But at heart, none of the Union ministers would be happy as the PC has heavily slashed his allocation for their tour expenses during the new fiscal.
Compared to the Revised Estimate of 2006-07, the Union ministers and former prime ministers spent Rs 92.31 crore on tour expenses. This amount has been cut down to Rs 75.5 crore in the Budget estimates for this fiscal. However, go by the past record, there is no guarantee that the government will not surpass the limit this year too.
In his Budget, Chidambaram has, however, raised the allocation for sumptuary and other allowances for ministers from Rs 3.75 crore to Rs 4.92 crore.
The budgetary provisions for Cabinet secretariat under which salaries, travel and office expenses and other establishment-related expenditure of cabinet secretariat and high-level committee are met have also been marginally increased from Rs 12.65 crore to Rs 12.69 crore.
There has also been a marginal increase in the expenditure for salaries and travel expenses for the Prime Minister's Office and National Advisory Council constituted for the implementation of National Common Minimum Programme from Rs 15.69 crore to Rs 16.79 crore.
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