Bhubaneswar: In a major move aimed at reducing fuel consumption amid the volatile geopolitical situation in West Asia, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has directed the Chief Secretary to implement strict fuel austerity measures across all government departments.
This decision follows a recent appeal by the Prime Minister to curtail petrol and diesel expenses nationwide. In alignment with this national call, the Chief Minister had previously halved his own carcade size and urged the public to reduce fuel usage.
The Chief Minister has now issued an 8-point guideline to enforce these reduction strategies efficiently across the state’s administrative framework.
Under the new directives, all official meetings, reviews, training sessions, and workshops will be conducted virtually unless an in-person gathering is absolutely essential. For unavoidable physical meetings, only key personnel whose presence is mandatory will attend in person, while others will join through virtual modes.
A significant shift toward green energy will take effect on June 1, 2026. From this date forward, all new two-wheelers and four-wheelers purchased for government offices must be electric vehicles. Procurement of conventional petrol or diesel vehicles will only be permitted under exceptional circumstances. Furthermore, any four-wheeler hired on a rental basis by government offices starting June 1 must also be an electric vehicle.
To optimize the use of existing resources, senior officials who are entitled to official vehicles for personal government use are required to practice carpooling, sharing a single vehicle for their commutes. Accordingly, the fuel financial allocations for these vehicles will be reduced by half. To streamline vehicle entitlements, the Finance Department has been directed to issue a comprehensive guideline within 15 days, specifying which ranks of senior officers are permitted to use official vehicles individually.
For long-distance official travel, officers and employees have been instructed to utilize public transport, specifically buses or trains, instead of dedicated official cars. For officials who already own personal electric vehicles, the Finance Department is tasked with drafting a framework to facilitate and encourage the use of these private EVs for official work.
The government also plans to introduce electric bus or minibus shuttle services to transport employees to and from cluster residential areas where a large number of government staff reside.
Overall, every government office has been mandated to take deliberate steps to ensure that their monthly petrol and diesel consumption for vehicle movement drops by at least 10 percent. The Chief Minister has emphasized that these guidelines must be strictly enforced from the State Secretariat down to sub-divisions, tehsils, and blocks, as well as across all state public sector undertakings, autonomous bodies, universities, and societies.