By Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Panaji, Mar 27: The state government has coughed up more than one and half crore during last three years in various dinners, breakfast and lunches hosted on its behalf to the very important persons (VIPs), state guests and its own legislators.
These pricey lunches and dinners were hosted at various five star hotels, floating restaurants, chief minister’s residence and also at the hotels on Panaji’s outskirt.
The data tabled on the floor of the house during the recently concluded session reveals that dinner hosted by then chief minister Pratapsingh Rane on September 30, 2006 in Taj Exotica hotel to 200 advocates is the costliest.
The state had to pay Rs 6,38,948 for the exotic dinner.
These dinners and launches are hosted by then chief minister Rane, current chief minister Digamber Kamat, Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar, then Information Technology minister Dayanand Narvekar, then deputy chief Minister Dr Wilfred de Souza, then health minister Luizinho Faleiro, Education Minister Atanasio Monserratte, then panchayati raj minister Subhash Shirodkar, Urban development minister Joaquim Alemao, Transport Minister Ramakrishna Dhavalikar, tourism minister Fransisco Pacheco, Water Resources Minister Philip Neri Rodrigues, Health minister Vishwajit Rane, Home Minister Ravi Naik and others.
While lacs of rupees are spent on the treating the VIPs, interestingly, the dinner hosted by then chief Minister Rane in honour of Sonia Gandhi has billed just Rs 47,725. The list mentions the venue of the dinner at city’s Sher-e-Punjab restaurant.
Goa chief minister’s traditional Id-Milan programme wherein special invitees from various section of society are invited for dinner at Chief Minister’s official residence, last year, cost Rs 3,99,800 for the state exchequer.
Chief Minister Kamat had hosted the dinner on October 04, 2008 in which three caterers were contracted the work.
The delegates who were down in Goa to participate in the international seminar on ``Strategies for improving livelihood security of rural poor’’ were hosted dinner on boat cruise Santa Monica.
The state government footed the bill of Rs 3,10,250 for the dinner on September 24, 2008.