Bhagidari lunches cost govt Rs 1.68cr

[karira]

As reported by Abantika Ghosh of TNN in timesofindia.indiatimes.com on 8 August 2008:
Bhagidari lunches cost govt Rs 1.68cr-Delhi-Cities-The Times of India

Bhagidari lunches cost govt Rs 1.68cr

NEW DELHI: A mouthwatering Rs 1.68 crore was gulped down by city officials and RWA members in lunches and dinners hosted in the past five years under the Delhi government's much-touted Bhagidari scheme. This was revealed by the government in response to an RTI application filed by TOI.

According to a finance department official, the grants given for development work under the scheme during the same period would be less than Rs 1 crore. "Such a lot of money on food borders on misdemeanour on government's part," the official said. "We were never given more than a cup of tea at meetings. How can the bill be so high?" S P Gupta of Old Rajinder Nagar RWA wondered.

Ten years after it was first mooted, Bhagidari, a scheme that was the brainchild of chief minister Sheila Dikshit and got her profuse international praise, it was revealed in an RTI plea that the the nine revenue districts of the state government have spent Rs 1,67,72,749 only on Bhagidari lunches and dinners organised by them during various meetings and workshops in the past five years. It means the annual cost of these meals to the state exchequer was Rs 33 lakh.

In reply to the same application filed by TOI, the state government has listed diverse things - most of which have no connection to the Bhagidari initiative - including power reforms - that have drawn criticism from all quarters - implementation of the unit area method of property tax, the RTI Act itself, implementation of VAT and even routine acts of governance including setting up of voter registration centres.

[sagginyou]

Great Discovery
In fact this shows the hollowness of such a program