Indian
Express: Bengaluru: Thursday, 01 October 2015.
The towel, an
integral part of Chief Minister
Siddaramaiah’s attire, may rest lightly on his shoulder, but seems to be a
burden on the exchequer.
Since April 1
this year, the government had spent Rs 4.78 lakh to procure hand towels, bath
towels, face towels, foot mats and pillow covers. An additional Rs 4.79 lakh
was spent on purchasing bedsheets, bed covers and blankets for the house.
The
information was obtained under the Right To Information Act (RTI) by activist
Marilingegowda Maali Patil and the documents are available with Express.
In all,
during the same period, Rs 39.73 lakh was spent on the CM’s official residence,
including Rs 4.77 lakh for buying household articles. A compound wall was also
built and other repair works undertaken.
Big sums have
been spent on the upkeep of the official residences of some ministers too. In
all, Rs 1.71 crore was spent on the official residences of Public Works
Department Minister H C Mahadevappa, Rural Development Minister H K Patil,
Industries Minister R V Deshpande, Home Minister K J George and Forest Minister
Ramanath Rai.
Mahadevappa
tops the list with Rs 58.74 lakh in 2013-2014, followed by H K Patil with Rs
39.15 lakh (2013-2014, 2014-2015), Deshpande Rs 37.72 lakh (2013-14,
2014-2015), George, Rs 25.39 lakh (2013 to current year) and Rai Rs 10.86 lakh
(2013-2014, 2014-2015).
Over to
ministers
When
contacted, Rai said he had not asked for any repairs at his official residence.
“They must have taken up the repair works before handing over the house to me.
Unlike the houses of other ministers, mine was repaired and handed over to me,”
he added.
Deshpande,
when contacted, said that his official residence was like a ‘ghost house’ when
it was allotted to him. “It was in a very bad shape. I had asked for the
repairs and it was for the PWD to estimate the cost and carry out the work,” he
said.
He added, “I
am using just a few rooms in the official residence.” George said, “This is all
false information. We have spent around `9 lakh for renovations, repairs and
purchase. We ministers too have self-respect. We cannot take even a cup and
saucer while going to live in the official residence. I am not spending on my
own residence, it is government property. I can pay back that `9 lakh.”
.JPG)
.JPG)
