Delhi govt trims publicity budget to 200 cr

Under attack, the Delhi government today cut down the funds for publicity and information to Rs 200 crore, which is less than 40 per cent of the amount it had set aside for it last year.
Last year, it had earmarked Rs 526 crore for advertisement, drawing severe criticism from BJP and Congress.
Former AAP leader Prashant Bhushan had also criticised the government's move. However, only about Rs 100 crore was spent on it and the rest was used for other works.
"We have allocated Rs 200 crore for information and publicity in the budget," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters.

A senior government official said the entire amount for the sector has been put under one consolidated plan head monitored by the Directorate of Information and Publicity.
Earlier, various departments of the government used to spend funds for advertisements on their own, making it difficult to estimate the exact expenditure on this account.