Haryana: In 2 weeks, BJP govt spends Rs 17 cr on advertisements singing its praises

Apart from highlighting its achievements, the government also took out advertisements to provide information on the public meetings of the chief minister and his Cabinet.

While over Rs 10 crore was spent on advertisements in newspapers, a total of Rs 4.29 crore was spent on advertisements on radio channels, TV and websites. Of this, Rs 1.39 crore was spent on advertisements on national channels and 1.19 crore on regional channels.

An amount of Rs 25 lakh was spent on advertisements in magazines.

A total of 28 video films were made on the achievements of the government that cost Rs 1.47 crore. Advertisements were printed in 18 magazines at the cost of around Rs 25.32 lakh.

Of the 17 crore, close to Rs 6 crore was spent on advertisements for information on a series of meetings addressed by the Chief Minister as well cabinet ministers.

Panipat-based RTI activist P P Kapoor who procured the information says, “The government spent huge amounts on advertisements to highlight its achievements; a wastage of public money. Some of the magazines in which advertisements were given are those affiliated to RSS”.

He further said that he had also sought information about jobs that the government provided during the year.
“The government did not provide any details of the employment provided in the last one year. It shows that the government did not make any recruitment,” he says.

The Haryana government defending the spending, saying the intention behind the advertisements was to inform people about schemes that are for their benefit. In a statement issued here, the government said the money was not spent for any political or personal benefit. It further defended itself, stating that the previous Congress government spent Rs 25 crore on advertisements on Haryana being the “number 1” state in the country.