Catch News: New Delhi: Saturday, February 10, 2018.
In an
evidence of politicians inviting greater public scrutiny now than ever before,
two applications under the Right to Information Act have surfaced regarding
some miscellaneous expenditure by the chief ministers of Delhi and Uttarakhand.
Filed by RTI
activists, the applications sought to know the expenditure incurred by the CMs
on refreshment served at their offices and official residences. In the case of
Delhi, expenditure on medical reimbursement and petrol/maintenance of the
official vehicle was also sought.
The Delhi
government has informed RTI activist Rohit Chaudhary that office of the Delhi
CM Arvind Kejriwal, spent a total of Rs 1.03 crore on refreshment across a
period of 34 months. The time-line stretches from 14 February, 2015 when Kejriwal
assumed office to December 2017.
The average
spending comes down to Rs 3.03 lakh a month, or a little over Rs 10,000 a day.
That's about a 100 cups of tea daily for an office that employs over 200 people
and witnesses a steady stream of visitors.
Looking at
other heads of expenditure, the CMO sought medical reimbursement worth Rs
12,04,120 lakhs in the same 34 month period, over Rs 35,000 a month. This
includes about Rs 7 lakhs spent at Jindal Nature Care, Bengaluru. Kejriwal was
accompanied by his wife on two out of three visits to the centre in this
period.
The CMO's
electricity bill for this period stands at Rs 3,31,620 lakhs, with an average
of Rs 9,753 a month.
As far as use
of official vehicle is concerned, Kejriwal's office spent a total of Rs 6.70
lakhs on fuel and Rs 2.61 lakhs on maintenance in this period. That comes down
to a monthly average of Rs 19,000 on fuel and Rs 7,600 a month.
In
Uttarakhand, office of CM Trivendra Rawat has spent a total of Rs 68,59,865 on
refreshments ever since Rawat assumed office on 18 March 2017.Thats an average of Rs 6.23 lakhs
a month.
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