Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: The Goa Government spent a whopping Rs 3,22,30,104 (three crores twenty-two lakhs thirty thousand one hundred and four rupees) on that Save Soil public interaction with Spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev that was held on August 23rd last year at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Taleigao.
This has been revealed in the information furnished to Adv. Aires Rodrigues under the RTI Act by the Directorate of Information & Publicity.
As per the RTI information, the event was organized by the Directorate of Agriculture, while the event management contract was entrusted to Taleigao-based Mirchi Republic Media Production.
As per the information furnished, the expenditure incurred on that event includes an amount of Rs 31 02, 712 pent on advertisements by way of pole branding from Divya Circle in Panaji to Dona Paula while Rs 3, 05, 085 was spent on printing of invitations for the event. While an expenditure of Rs 10,88,135 was spent on seating arrangements for VVIPs and VIPs, another Rs 1,58, 898 was spent on the hiring of chairs for the public. A further amount of Rs 10, 45, 763 was spent for floor carpeting of 1500 sq mts inside the hall. Rs 11, 27, 119 was spent on snacks for the audience, while another Rs 5,50, 847 was spent on hiring tables for the distribution of those snacks. The RTI info furnished to Adv. Aires Rodrigues also reveals that a further amount of Rs 2, 28, 14 was spent on High tea for VVIPs and VIPs.
For that event, Rs 16,31,356 was spent on venue branding, while an expenditure of another Rs 3,81,356 was incurred towards housekeeping and maintaining cleanliness at the venue. An amount of Rs 5, 50,847 was spent on the cultural show held for the event, while the green rooms for the artists cost the taxpayers yet another Rs 100000.
Terming all this extremely extravagant expenditure incurred on the event as very mind-boggling, Adv, Aires Rodrigues has today stated that the Vigilance Department needs to probe it all to identify the inflated bills and undue criminal willful waste of taxpayers’ money.
