PUDUCHRRY: Puducherry health minister Malladi Krishna Rao on Wednesday stated that Lt Governor (LG) Kiran Bedi should cut down on the Raj Nivas expenditure to save funds instead of turning down government proposals for the welfare of poor people.
In a memorandum sent to the Lt Governor (LG) on Wednesday, a copy of which was released to the media, the minister said that the Chief Minister had sent a proposal to the LG for enhancement of old age pension for fishermen from May 2020.
However, the LG turned it down citing a financial crunch and ordered the disbursement of the pension as per the old rates and cut the allocation of Rs.14.33 crore in the budget. This is a gross injustice to fishermen, he said, adding that the prestige of the elected government was lowered among the poor fishermen families. However, the LG did not make any cut in the budget allocation for Raj Nivas, he said.
The minister said though the LG had announced that she will save money in Raj Nivas on the lines of financial prudence announced by the President of India, the expenditure of Raj Nivas has doubled since Bedi assumed office in 2016.
If the LG’s office reduces its expenses by at least 30 percent as assured to the President, a sum of Rs 2.10 crore could be saved annually, he said. If savings are made by the Lieutenant Governor sincerely, this fund can be utilized for welfare schemes to benefit the poor, he said.
The minister said that he had stopped claiming salary and allowances from September 2020 (including expenditure on refreshments, fuel charges for official vehicle, airfare and others) until the threat of COVID-19 ceases.
Earlier, he contributed his salary, perks and allowances for March 2020 to the Chief Minister's COVID relief fund and from April to August, it was utilized to provide essential ration items, groceries, vegetables and edible oil kits to poor families to meet their needs in the hour of crisis, said the minister.
Even MLAs and MPs are also providing essential commodities by spending their own money for the poor during this pandemic situation, he said. However, he regretted that the LG has not spent a single rupee for the welfare of the people of Puducherry through her Delhi-based NGO.
Stating that the LG is turning down files regularly, he said that the setting up of a fish processing unit under the ‘One district one product scheme’ of the Union ministry of food processing for Puducherry and Karaikal districts also got the axe from the LG. Instead, she recommended dairy products and honey procurement when the production of milk/dairy products is in short supply and honey procurement is not feasible in the Union territory, he said.