BHUBANESWAR: The state general administration (GA) department has issued
fresh advisory with some restrictions to regulate foreign visit of the state government officers.
According to the advisory (a copy of which is with TOI), no officers will be allowed to undertake official foreign visits more than three times during a financial year. Duration of the visit shall be five working days excluding the journey time. Earlier, there were no restrictions on number of visits.
The advisory also stated that secretaries should not undertake any foreign visits during the
assembly session unless it is considered unavoidable.
Besides, all the secretaries have been asked to ensure that officers of appropriate functional level dealing with the subjects are deputed for foreign visits instead of those at higher levels. "When presence of secretaries is required for any purpose, no one else can be deputed in his place," said a senior officer.
Informing about the advisory,
Ashok Meena, special secretary of the
GA department said it was a regular administrative matter and there is nothing new in it.
Invitation received by officers directly on account of their expertise in a particular domain and where no government business will be transacted, will be treated as personal visit. "In officer in that case would have to take leave for the period of such visit. It would not be undertaken at government cost," said the advisory.
All proposals relating to foreign visits should be submitted to the chief minister for approval with adequate justification. According to sources, the chief secretary of
Odisha used to approve foreign visits of officers earlier.
