Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on May 27 said the state government has put all new foreign travel proposals on hold and that he has personally cancelled his overseas visits, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent call for austerity measures.

Responding to questions over official foreign tours, Sangma clarified that only those visits which had received approvals well before the Prime Minister’s announcement were allowed to proceed.

He said such programmes had already obtained political and financial clearances from the Centre, and preparations had been underway for months.

“Those programmes continued because international visits require preparations spanning three to six months,” Sangma told reporters.

The Chief Minister said delegations currently abroad had completed all formal procedures before the Prime Minister’s announcement.

“These programmes were already in process. Bookings had been made, expenses incurred, and political approvals from the Centre had been secured,” he said.

Sangma stated that no fresh foreign travel proposals have been approved since the Prime Minister announced austerity measures.

“After the Prime Minister’s announcement, no new proposal related to foreign travel is being considered,” he said.

The Meghalaya Chief Minister further said he had taken a strict position personally, even without a formal notification being issued.

“I have personally stopped all foreign tours. It is important to follow the Prime Minister’s directions in the interest of the nation,” Sangma said.

According to him, nearly seven to eight fresh proposals for overseas visits were received after the Prime Minister’s announcement, but all have been kept on hold for now.

He reiterated that earlier approved tours had entered the execution phase months before the austerity directive, with bookings, political clearances and arrangements with host countries already completed.