BENGALURU: Elected representatives attending the winter session of the State legislature starting from Monday in Belagavi, have been asked not to bring their private personal secretaries.
The Assembly Secretariat has sent an official communication in this regard to all elected representatives.
According to officials from the secretariat, this is an austerity measure taken by the government considering the drought situation in the State.
The officials also informed the MLAs that arrangements for accommodation will be made only for the official personal secretaries and not for those who have been hired directly by the MLAs. “This is to reduce the expenses keeping the drought situation in mind in most of the taluks in the state. Despite this, if they bring their private secretaries, expenses for accommodation, food and others have to be borne by the legislators themselves,” said a senior official of the secretariat.
The secretariat is not just restricting the MLAs, it has also decided to cut short the staff being deputed to Belagavi during the session. For the last winter session held in Belagavi, over 300 staffers were deputed. This year, it has been reduced to 171.
“The more staff we send, the more expenses we have to incur. Considering that, we have taken a decision to reduce the staff and are sending 171 people from here to Belagavi,” explained the official.