Chandigarh: The Punjab government will now do away with the five-star hotel culture as part of an affordable campaign to reduce the burden on the state exchequer.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered all ministers to stay in circuit houses or government guest houses whenever they go to the field. Cabinet ministers have been asked to refrain from staying in five-star hotels.
Written orders are also to be issued by the Chief Minister’s Office in the coming days.
The Chief Minister’s Office has planned to revive all circuit houses and government guest houses. Details of rest houses have been obtained from all departments. The crumbling rest houses are to be repaired. Cabinet ministers and MLAs have been asked to carry out government work from circuit houses.
The rest houses in the new plan are also to be opened to the general public so that they too can book. According to sources, cabinet ministers have been asked to keep a round of circuit houses. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann himself had visited the Circuit House in Patiala on October 20.
There are seven circuit houses in Punjab while the number of rest houses is in the hundreds. According to the details collected by the canal department, there are 227 rest houses in Punjab which are built years old. Of these, 24 rest houses are built on national highways or state highways.