Lunch at Rs 1,000 per plate for IAS officers and their families, for drivers at nearly Rs 600, taxi fare and a total bill of over Rs 1.2 lakh - a Holi party thrown by the Himachal Pradesh chief secretary has sparked a row, more so since the government has been asked to foot the bill.
Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, who was supposed to retire on March 31 and has been given a six-month extension, threw the lavish bash for Holi at Himachal Tourism's flagship hotel Holiday Home in Shimla. About 75 people, including officers, their wives and children attended the party and the cost of the food per plate was about Rs 1,000, taking the total to Rs 75,000, before GST. Lunch for 22 drivers at Rs 585 per plate and taxi fare of Rs 11,800 was also added to the bill, taking the figure to Rs 1,22,020.
The management of the hotel had sent the bill to the chief secretary's office, which has allegedly been forwarded to the General Administration Department of the Himachal Pradesh government. The bill has also been circulated on social media, inviting criticism from users, former officers and the BJP, which has accused the Congress-led government of wasting money while constantly complaining of a financial crisis.
Randhir Sharma, MLA and BJP spokesperson, said, "It is surprising that, under the Congress government, officers party and the government has to pay the bill. A party was organised on Holi and officers, their families and staff were invited. The bill of Rs 1.22 lakh has been sent to the General Administration Department by the chief secretary."
"Officers are wasting government money to enjoy themselves and host parties. The government is not stopping this because they also do the same thing... The BJP seeks that the chief minister (Sukhvinder Sukhu), who talks about reform, should ensure that such things do not happen again," he added.
Neither Chief Secretary Saxena nor the Himachal government have responded so far.
(With inputs from VD Sharma)
