Government employees to don khadi twice a week

Wearing khadi twice a week is soon going to be compulsory for all government employees in the state. Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has prepared a proposal according to which sale of khadi garments would add a revenue of Rs 180 crore to the state exchequer. While the plan is still at the nascent stage, Ahmednagar collector office has already chosen Monday as its khadi day. The initiative to encourage the use of khadi was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I have suggested to make wearing of khadi clothes compulsory for all the government employees. There are 18 lakh employees and even if they buy a single dress, it would bring in a revenue of `180 crore for the state. We are discussing the issue with all the sections before finalising it. People should agree on this and get involved in the decision. The employees should not feel the burden of the decision,” said Mr Mungantiwar.

The minister said that the decision should benefit the government’s khadi department rather than private traders. “We are in talks with the khadi department to help us in the initiative. We want the government department to be benefited with the decision. The move should boost the department’s sale,” he added.

Meanwhile, chief secretary Swadheen Kshatriya had appealed to all officials to wear khadi once a week, which received positive response not only from his workers but even rural Maharashtra.

The Ahmednagar collector’s office has decided to observe khadi day every Monday. The collector has issued a letter to all the employees asking them to wear khadi apparel every Monday. In June this year, the state general administration department has passed a government resolution appealing all its employees to wear khadi once a week. In March this year, Mr Modi had urged the nation to promote the handloom sector of the country, especially khadi products. In order to boost khadi production and encourage small weavers, central government employees were asked to wear khadi every Friday.