PANJIM: A whopping amount of approximately Rs 72,21,972 was spent on the vehicles hired for VIPs and security at the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and his eight Cabinet ministers held on March 28,
at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukerjee Stadium at Taleigao.
The information obtained by Advocate Aires Rodrigues from the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC),
through the Right To Information Act, also states that GTDC had provided 134 hired vehicles to the Protocol
Department for the occasion.
“This expenditure incurred is in addition to the Rs 5,59,25,805 spent by the General Administration
Department at the Goa Secretariat and a further Rs 24,52,477 by the Information Department by way of publicity
for that swearing-in ceremony,” the applicant said.
One is sure that with money at the government’s disposal Goa’s flood-affected victims, farmers wanting compensation, and beneficiaries of schemes who are not getting their disbursals, will now be benefitted
Pointing out that this mind-boggling information so far obtained reveals that the State government recklessly
and needlessly drained at least Rs 6,56,00,254 on the 18-minute function, Rodrigues has stated that all this was
a gross impermissible criminal waste of public funds, when the poor and elderly in Goa have not been paid their
much-needed monthly benefits for their entitled social welfare schemes.
Rodrigues has urged Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai to intervene in view of the financial crisis the State
is reeling under whilst the government undertakes mindless expenditure.
