Guwahati, Jan 27 (PTI) The Assam government on Thursday barred all ministers, including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, from announcing any new scheme without prior permission and considering the availability of financial resources. The decision to not announce new schemes at public programmes was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Sarma. During official tours and public programmes, the ministers will provide information only on schemes that are already part of the Budget or any other government announcement, said an official communique shared by Sarma on Twitter. "In the interest of financial prudence, CM and other Ministers not to make any fresh announcements without taking into consideration availability of adequate financial resources. However, after consulting departments, schemes can be taken up as per request made during the function," it added. The cabinet decided that the Budget Session of the Assam Legislative Assembly will commence on March 14 to present the state"s financial statement for the 2022-23 fiscal. Addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting, Health and Family Welfare Minister Keshab Mahanta said that traffic will not be disrupted beforehand during road travel of the chief minister. "If required, traffic may be paused for a period not exceeding two minutes. In such cases also, the movement of ambulances will take precedence over the CM"s carcade and will not be stopped," he added. In order to minimise public inconvenience, the chief minister"s carcade will be limited to six cars in Guwahati and 12 vehicles in the rest of the state, excluding the escort and pilot vehicles, Mahanta said. The cabinet also decided that the practice of felicitating and offering gifts to ministers and senior officials during government functions will be discontinued, but the visiting dignitaries will be provided with proper courtesy. Mahanta said that the cabinet has requested the State Election Commission to schedule and conduct the municipal elections before March 10. Besides, he said that District Day will be observed by all districts on the date of notification of its creation and it should be celebrated with enthusiasm with the participation of local people. "If the notification is not available, the date of joining of the first deputy commissioner will be observed as District Day," Mahanta added. PTI TR ACD ACD