At a time when Maharashtra reels under a debt of about Rs 3 lakh crore, the state government has allowed all ministers, ministers of state, chief, principal and under secretaries as well as CM's public relations officials to have TV sets worth upto Rs 1 lakh each in their offices.
According to a Government Resolution issued by the General Administration Department on April 6, the Maharashtra state government will give an additional Rs 5,000 for a set-top box and Rs 1,000 for cable connection every month.
There are a total of 20 cabinet ministers and ten Ministers of State in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra state government. Besides, there are 56 senior bureaucrats who are eligible for television sets.
This would translate into an expenditure of about Rs 10 crore.
Hitting out at the Maharashtra government for spending "unnecessarily" on providing facilities to senior bureaucrats and ministers, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde said instead of wasting money on TV sets, the government should use the money to help farmers reeling under drought conditions.
"When we talk of helping farmers, the government says it cannot do it since it is overburdened with debt. So where did the government get money to provide TV sets? This decision translates into rubbing salt on the wounds of distressed farmers," Munde said.
The Congress "condemned" the "wasteful expenditure" incurred by the Maharashtra state government and questioned if government officials have been appointed merely to sit in their offices and watch television the entire day.
