Govt’s extravaganza; spent Rs 19 lakh for Onasadya arranged for VIPs

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The chief minister organized an Onasadya in the assembly building at the expense of the government costing Rs 19 lakh. The government issued an order allotting this amount on November 8. However, the reply to right to information was that there is no accurate estimate of how many people attended in the feast.

The chief minister organized an Onasadya for dignitaries at the Legislative Assembly building on August 26. After examining the bills received from the private catering firm, the public administration department issued an order sanctioning Rs 19,00,130 on November 8. This was included in entertainment related expenses. Rs 15,400 rupees was spent on the invitation card of the event. This amount was sanctioned on October 10. However, there is no accurate count of how many people attended the feast. An application under the RTI Act was filed but no response was received. The figures were revealed after filing an appeal.

An estimate of Rs 1,25,000 was spent for a programme attended by ten people in Kovalam to bid farewell to S Manikumar, who was the Chief Justice of the High Court. The chief minister, ministers and senior officials participated in the send-off. The government does not normally give a party to Chief Justices when they retire and therefore it was criticized.