Economy in use of paper - FinMin Directions
MINISTRY of Finance has been issuing instructions from time to time on expenditure management, fiscal discipline and on the need for economy and rationalisation of Government expenditure. Government is one of the major consumers of paper. Injudicious use of paper not only leads to infructuous expenditure but also impacts the environment as trees are the major source of paper pulp production. Instructions on judicious use of paper have been issued by the Department of expenditure in the past and similar instructions are also contained in the Manual of Office Procedure (MOP) published by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. With a view to further stress the importance of economy in use of paper in Government offices, following instructions are issued for strict compliance by all concerned:-
(i) Notes should be typed/written on both sides of the paper/note sheet;
(ii) Typing should be done in single space;
(iii) Policy instructions/guidelines issued through Orders, OMs, etc. may be uploaded on the official website of the Ministry/Department/Organization, Number of hard copies of such communications may be limited to the required minimum;
(iv) Office copies should not be typed again where the draft itself is legible and does not contain many corrections.
(v) Forms, proformas, returns etc., if any, stipulated by Ministries/ Departments/ Organizations in connection the organizational mandate may be reviewed in relation to their size and format and should be recast and simplified/shortened in keeping with the recent directives from Cabinet Secretariat. Manual submission of forms, returns, etc., wherever stipulated, either under statutory obligations or otherwise, should be discouraged. Switching over to e-forms, online submission of forms/returns, etc., may be encouraged.
All the Ministries/Departments, attached, subordinate offices and autonomous or statutory bodies funded by GOI may comply with the directives.
These instructions have not come a day too soon. But what is going to happen? Thousands of copies of these instructions will be printed on foolscap paper and circulated among all the field formations and some offices may even ask for compliance reports - again on paper.
DDT had been crusading the cause of saving paper. -17-05-2005, observed, "The great babus of North Block who use only government stationery have absolutely no idea as to the cost of paper. The CBEC must have been responsible for a large chunk of forest wealth being depleted. The frequent notifications and amendments they bring out cost this nation tons and tons of paper. The latest contribution to the destruction of forests is the new form for monthly returns."
Let us hope the latest directive from the FinMin will encourage the babus to save paper.
Also read Time to do away with a couple of provisos and make the earth Greener