RS 7.4 cr is Mantris' Travel Bill

[karira]

As reported by Viju B of TNN in timesofindia.indiatimes.com on 5 August 2008:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/M...ow/3326532.cms

RS 7.4 cr is Mantris' Travel Bill

MUMBAI: Our state mantris ran up travel bills worth over Rs 7 crore in the first three years of their tenure. The public exchequer had to shell out these funds to pay for the ministers ' trips to their constituencies as well as some foreign jaunts.

Maharashtra's ministers incurred a total travel bill of Rs 7.44 crore from April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2007, according to figures provided by the Pay and Account Office of the state government.

Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's globe-trotting took him to the top of the list as he incurred expenses of Rs 63.96 lakh. The CM's domestic travel expenses came to Rs 32.45 lakh, while his foreign jaunts cost Rs 31.51 lakh.

Anil Deshmukh, Public Works Department minister, was second in the list of 64 ministers who have served for some or all of those three years. He has incurred Rs 47.86 lakh in expenses.

Maharashtra textile minister Satish Chaturvedi and dairy development minister Anees Ahmed came third and fourth, incurring domestic travel expenses of Rs 41.4 lakh and 38.61 lakh, respectively . Twelve of the ministers incurred domestic travel expenses of over Rs 20 lakh.

The CM's office clarified that the chief minister has been summoned to Delhi various times by some Union ministry or the other.

"He usually travels alone or maybe with a secretary who is affiliated with that department ,'' said a senior

official in his office . "The chief minister has also travelled abroad to bring in valuable overseas investments . His visits have borne fruit and Rs 1.25 lakh crore worth of overseas investments have come in. Upto 96 MoUs have been signed with industries that have set up here,'' the official said.

However, some quarters criticised the ministers for allowing others to go on trips with them. "It is a known fact that a majority of the ministers travel with their close aides, even if it is not necessary ,'' said activist Chetan Kothari, who filed the Right to Information query that led to the reply from the Maharashtra government.

"The ministers even insist that babus travel with them in the business class, which increases expenses ,'' said a senior official with the Urban Development department.

According to another official, many ministers return for the weekend to Mumbai during the winter session in Nagpur. "The ministers have all been provided plush bungalows , yet many insist on returning for weekends,'' the official said.