THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has sanctioned Rs 30 lakh to meet the air travel expenses of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan. The amount was sanctioned after relaxing the treasury restrictions on payments above Rs 25 lakh. Meanwhile, the Opposition has criticised the government's move amid the financial crisis and budget announcements on new taxes. The Raj Bhavan had earlier asked the government for more funds after the money allocated in the budget 2022-23 was fully spent.
The governor’s principal secretary, in a letter to the government, sought Rs 30 lakh to pay up the pending bills. The tickets were booked through the government agency ODEPC.
The government said the sanction was based on the principal secretary’s letter dated December 30, 2022. The amount was credited to the head of an account to meet the travel expenses of the governor. It said the additional sanction was to settle the payments to ODEPC.
The finance department took months to act on the principal secretary’s letter in the backdrop of the tussle between the government and the governor.
It is learnt that a favourable decision was taken in view of the current warm relationship between the governor and chief minister.