Exchequer foots it all: Bureaucrats choose lavish stay over affordable lodgings, cancellations costly affair too

The Delhi-based Punjab Bhawan flaunts 66 rooms with pocket-friendly room tariffs starting at just Rs 100 for Class I officers. For a private person, however, it costs Rs 1,200. An employee at Punjab Bhawan said that the rooms have elaborate facilities – with the best of air conditioners, coffee machines and every required facility and that it is “highly subscribed” by VIPs.

Also, the UT Guest house of Chandigarh Administration – located in an upscale locality near Connaught Place at the Kasturba Gandhi Marg in Delhi – is a bungalow converted into a rest house, which has three rooms that have tariffs ranging from Rs 35 to Rs 100. An official informed that Rs 35 per day is charged to an official coming for an official visit and Rs 100 for non-official visits.

And the same for Haryana Bhawan located in Delhi also has 75 rooms. An employee attending a call at the landline said that for Class I officer, the maximum rates are just up to Rs 130 for a day, which is really nominal. He stated that “the rooms are first class and even MLAs and MPs stay here with the best of facility and nominal rates”.

The employee said that if anyone coming along the officer is shown as “personal guest” he will be charged only Rs 250 for that, else the charges would go to Rs 750 a person, if he or she is shown as family member. And anyone, private coming in at the Haryana Bhawan has to pay Rs 2,000 a day.

Way back in 2016, a deputy resident commissioner set shop in Delhi, clutching an assistant secretary’s paycheck. Yet, a siren blared last year with an audit objection, shining a spotlight on this bizarre arrangement and revealing a cool Rs 67 lakh apportioned for this role until 2022. Supposedly, this official’s mission is to liaison with ministries and tackle Chandigarh-related issues in the ministry of Home Affairs.

But lo and behold, the State Transport Authority’s audit drill exposed an audacious act: funds for the deputy resident commissioner from Chandigarh, flexing muscles in Delhi, conveniently flowed through the channels of the vacant, cobweb-clad assistant secretary position at the State Transport Authority.

Convention dictates funds and salaries can be spent only on staff posted in the authority. This misstep didn’t slip through the cracks unnoticed. The audit raised the red flag of “unjustified expenditure” . However, plunging into the depths of a 123-page response dug up via the Right to Information Act filed by Chandigarh resident RK Garg, a rather convenient pattern emerged—many high-ranking officers justified their plush trips to Delhi by waving the magic wand of “pursuing or discussing issues pertaining to Chandigarh”.

A trip capped Jitender Yadav, an IAS officer, stayed at the Radisson Hotel while attending the Swachh Survekshan award ceremony in Indore during his role as the officiating MC Commissioner of Chandigarh in 2018. For a period of three days, accommodation charges at Radisson Hotel Indore totaled Rs 20,160 from June 21 to June 23, 2018. However, the documentation specifies that this amount was capped at Rs 2,250 per day for the three-day period.

Moreover, in the category of airfare and overall expenses, Rs 27,150 of taxpayers’ funds were used for Yadav’s participation in receiving the award.

Costly cancellations for ex-UT Adviser

Taxpayers footed the bill for the UK visa expenses of former UT adviser Manoj Parida, amounting to Rs 61,915, adding to the substantial Rs 9.40 lakh he spent on travel during his tenure.

Parida’s lavish spending extended to ticket cancellations. In February 2019, his uncertainty about attending a meeting in Hyderabad led to three ticket cancellations, costing a combined Rs 60,113. This was despite tickets already amounting to nearly Rs 45,000.

His regular trips to Delhi also strained the exchequer, including flight cancellation charges due to extended stays. For instance, a trip from August 22 to August 29, 2019, meant to pursue pending proposals with the Government of India, incurred Rs 52,417 in expenses due to a postponed return.

In May 2019, taxpayers bore the brunt of Parida’s cancellation charges of Rs 8,767, following a previous visit to Delhi in April 2019 (Rs 37,490) and another in June 2019 (Rs 31,333) to address pending Chandigarh issues.

Numerous Delhi trips filled Parida’s calendar, including a vague November 13 to December 3, 2019, journey costing Rs 1.01 lakh.

On March 26, 2021, the UT adviser’s Chandigarh-Delhi tour, focused on privatisation discussions, incurred Rs 38,180. This was in addition to his March 10 to 15, 2021, Delhi trip (Rs 14,233) to discuss power privatisation matters.

Turning to Vinod Kavle, IAS, holding the charge of Secretary Culture, Food and supplies his trips took Rs 6.43 lakh from the exchequer.

The most notable was a US trip from September 29 to October 6, 2019, amounting to Rs 2.38 lakh, encompassing flight tickets and luggage charges for his journey from Delhi to San Francisco and Seattle.

Attendance at foundation day celebrations in Delhi added another Rs 28,210 to the taxpayers’ burden.

‘No comments’

After being quizzed on details and specifics of his trips undertaken, cancellations and visa expenses sent to him, Parida disconnected the call made by The Indian Express.

Vinod Kavle, Secretary of Culture did not respond to the messages, asking him about his spending of Rs 6.43 lakh on travel. Arun Kumar Gupta, former home secretary too did not respond to this correspondent’s calls and messages.