High-flying ministers blow up public money

“Rs 57,60,904 was spent by Gogoi for touring foreign countries 18 times since 2001. The Chief Minister boarded plane 347 times for his domestic and foreign visits since 2001”

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, March 30: Assam is an economically backward state. Most of its people are deprived, struggling hard to make a living. So how ‘expensive’ are our ministers when it comes to spending public money on them? This was revealed on the floor of the Assembly on Monday by Dr Bhumidhar Barman, Revenue and Disaster Magement Minister, while replying on behalf of the Secretariat Administration Department against a short notice question brought by AGP MLA Phanibhusan Chowdhury on the issue.

Dr Barman said, “Since 2011, Rs 3,78,83,543 was spent by the Chief Minister, ministers and parliamentary secretaries in the me of TA and DA. Highest amount (Rs 80,33,170) of TA and DA was spent by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi followed by Tanka Bahadur Rai who spent Rs 29,02,380.”

For expense relating to travelling by helicopter since 2011, the Chief Minister spent an amount of Rs 6,94,04,353, Dr Barman said, adding that since 2001, Rs 57,60,904 was spent by Gogoi for touring foreign countries 18 times. “Since 2001, the Chief Minister boarded plane 347 times for his domestic and foreign visits,” he said, adding, “Rs 1,01,71,454 was spent for the Chief Minister’s domestic and intertiol air travel since 2001.”

From the records of expenditures, one can imagine how much public money the ministers in the State are spending in the me of travel.