No need to rely on states: Centre to bear expenses of Raj Bhavan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre will provide a special package to Raj Bhavans to avoid dependence on states for expenses. It is the state that currently pays for the Governor's allowance, travel, staff salaries, pensions, hospitality and daily expenses of the Raj Bhavan. The move is to completely centralise the Raj Bhavans by sanctioning all expenses.

Bengal and Tamil Nadu had cut the allocation for Raj Bhavans. In Kerala, Raj Bhavan had to put pressure on the government to allocate the allocation. In a meeting called by the Centre earlier, the governors had demanded that the Centre bear the expenses.

In Kerala, eight of the 11 accounts in the Raj Bhavan are for the Governor's expenses. Although the allocation to these accounts is determined by the Union Home Ministry, it is the state that allocates money. The state also provides money to three accounts for the salaries of employees and daily expenses. Rs 12.95 crore has been allocated in the budget for the Raj Bhavan.

In 2023-24, when Arif Khan was the governor, the travel expenses were more than 1.18 crore. At that time, 2.19 crore was allocated in addition to the budget allocation of 12.52 crore. The allocation is from the consolidated fund.

25 lakhs are allocated to be donated to voluntary organizations as per the Governor's choice. 13.5 lakhs were spent in this way in 2020-21. RV Arlekar had recently allocated money to two organizations.

To increase allocation by 30%

The benefits for the governors have been fixed as per the decision made in 1997. The governor has demanded a 30 percent increase in the share in proportion to the expenditure. This demand was made citing the high cost of air travel from Kerala to Delhi for official purposes.

Bengal cut 50%

• Bengal's allocation for Raj Bhavan cut by 50%. Recommendation for additional allocation of 53.5 lakhs rejected

• In Tamil Nadu, the Governor's discretionary fund reduced from 5 crores to 3 crores

Allocation for Raj Bhavan

Governor's salary----------------------42 lakhs

Discretionary fund---------------------25 lakhs

Domestic expenses--------------------4.21 crores

Employee salaries----------------------7.31 crores

Medical aid-----------------------------50.62 lakhs

Entertainment expenses----------------2 lakhs

Travel expenses------------------------13 lakhs

Contract expenses---------------------10 lakhs

Governor's monthly allowance----------3.5 lakhs