Mumbai: Three months after austerity measures were announced by the state govt, including the cancellation of foreign tours by officials and promoting public transport and electric vehicles, in response to PM Narendra Modi’s appeal amid the West Asia crisis, foreign tours of babus have begun once again.Three officers of the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) are travelling to the International Maritime Trade Fair in Hamburg in Germany while four officers of the sports department are going to Montreal in Canada to present Pune’s bid for hosting of the UCI Cycle Road World Championships 2032.In May, CM Devendra Fadnavis had announced a series of austerity measures, including halving the number of vehicles in the convoys of his cabinet colleagues, and cancelling foreign tours of ministers and officials. Several tours of ministers and legislators were scrapped after chief secretary Rajesh Agarwal’s circular prohibiting foreign tours was issued. Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar had cancelled a state legislators’ study tour to Japan. Tourism minister Shambhuraje Desai had cancelled his trip to London and Paris. Culture minister Ashish Shelar had cancelled his visit to Cannes.From the MMB, CEO Pradeep P, Chief Port Officer Capt Praveen Khara and administrative officer Pradip Badhiye will be travelling to Hamburg from Aug 31 to Sep 6.From the sports department, principal secretary Ranjit Singh Deol, secretary to DCM Sunetra Pawar and excise commissioner Dr Rajesh Deshmukh, sports and youth services commissioner Deepak Singla and Pune collector Jitendra Dudi will travel to Montreal from Sep 19 to 25 to make the host candidate presentation for Pune’s bid for the Cycling Road World Championships 2032. The state govt will spend Rs 28 lakhs on the Montreal trip.Chief secretary Rajesh Agarwal did not respond to queries from TOI on whether his May circular prohibiting foreign tours by officials was withdrawn and if foreign tours of officials were now permitted.“SMM Hamburg is recognised as the world’s premier global maritime trade fair, attracting over 2,200 exhibitors and nearly 48,000 participants from more than 100 countries. It serves as an international platform to showcase maritime capabilities and foster strategic global partnerships. The Indian Ports Association (IPA), under the aegis of the centre’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, is hosting the India national pavilion at the event…All expenses for the foreign tour of the aforesaid three officers such as air travel, visa, stay arrangements etc will be borne by MMB,” a Govt Resolution (GR) said.
