Measures to be taken by the State Government in the backdrop of the West Asian crisis

Government Circular In view of the West Asian crisis, the Honorable Prime Minister has appealed to citizens of the country to adopt certain measures such as allowing work from home, avoiding unnecessary purchase of gold, reducing use of petrol and diesel, using public transport, reducing consumption of edible oil, reducing dependency on chemical fertilizers and promoting natural farming, increasing use of Swadeshi products, and avoiding foreign travel. In this background, the state government has proposed the following measures: To conserve foreign exchange, foreign tours of government officers already approved for study or official work should be cancelled, and no new foreign tours should be planned. Preference should be given to using electric vehicles for daily-use vehicles hired through outsourcing. The minimum number of vehicles should be used during official site visits. Officers should plan joint tours through carpooling. Officers and employees should use public transport for official travel wherever travel is necessary. Senior officers should travel by metro, local train, or public bus at least one day in a week. Charging infrastructure for electric vehicles should be strengthened. Consideration should be given to reducing electricity rates for such charging. Pending and newly received proposals for setting up charging centers should be approved immediately. Government meetings, trainings, seminars, etc. at the Mantralaya level, divisional level, and district level should be conducted through VC systems wherever necessary. All meetings, trainings, discussions, etc. should be conducted online. Universities and colleges should ensure compliance. The police department should not grant permission for bike rallies, vehicle processions, vehicle convoys, etc. for any purpose. The Information and Public Relations Department and implementation agencies should issue Advertise government in a limited manner and avoid unnecessary expenditure. Expensive technologies such as decorative lights should be used minimally. Flex boards and banners should be used minimally, and DG sets should not be used for illuminated hoardings. Offices should use natural light and avoid unnecessary use of electric lights. After office hours, lights, fans, computers, air-conditioning systems, lifts, etc. should be switched off. Air-conditioning temperature should be maintained between 24°C and 26°C. Emphasis should be given to installing solar energy systems on maximum houses under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Ghar Yojana. To reduce edible oil consumption, canteens, midday meal centers, Anganwadis, hostels, prisons, police messes, hospitals, etc. should modify their menus accordingly. ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers should counsel households to reduce edible oil consumption. Instead of palm, soybean, or sunflower oil, mustard oil and groundnut oil should be encouraged. To increase large-scale use of PNG, pending and newly received proposals for PNG connections should be approved immediately. Restaurants and hotels in Mumbai and other major cities should be encouraged to compulsorily use PNG. For effective implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, duplicate-registered consumers should be identified and their registrations cancelled. Similarly, bogus, duplicate, migrated, etc. consumers among general customers should be identified and cancelled so that genuine beneficiaries can receive the benefits of the scheme. The Agriculture Department should undertake a campaign to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers; promote natural, biological, and organic farming; ensure proper use of fertilizers; encourage registration on AgriStack; prevent misuse of urea for non-agricultural purposes; rationalize fertilizer use; conduct soil testing; and issue crop-wise and region-wise advisories. All administrative departments should avoid appointing consultants for the next six months. All administrative departments, divisional commissioners, district collectors, municipal commissioners, and government officers/employees should ensure proper compliance with the above instructions. This government circular is made available on the Maharashtra government website and has been issued with a digital signature. By order and in the name of the Governor of Maharashtra, Rajesh Aggarwal Chief Secretary