Planning Commission's self-allocation - 35 lakh for 2 toilets

[Sakal Gharelu Ustad]

^^ The only thing I found objectionable is the smart card process. How can anyone decide who should be allowed to urinate in a public toilet? Everyone who is at PC should be treated as equal and even otherwise there is strict procedure to enter PC. One needs entry card or permission to enter the premises. This means they were actually discriminating against some people from there own office(probably who they think do not have urinating skills).

Now, coming to the 35 lakh thing, you pointed the right thing above. I call it left wing sabotage because they are comparing apples and oranges. Who in normal sense would compare poverty line with toilets? You cannot install a urinal under taat-patti inside PC. If half of the country takes lota to the fields with them does not mean that the we get lota culture in the PC and tell them to urinate across the street or start paying the PC officials Rs 32/day if they decided on the poverty line. This blaming the rich for all ills of the poor is left wing and would take us nowhere. These are normal expenditures and should not make headlines unless someone pocketed money out of it. For eg. Ray pointed out somewhere about the excursion trip for the jawans, where babus refused to accept the place as historical. We should lay down few rules and give autonomy to the institutions if we want them to work well.

P.S. Although, I myself think PC should be scrapped because they are good for nothing. It would be better to get more leaner think-tanks instead of the giant PC, where food in the official canteen finishes at 11:00am(well before 12:30pm, the lunch time). Most work is done by cutting and pasting from old PC handbooks.

 

[ejazr]

In defence of Montek - Views - livemint.com

The attack on the head of the Planning Commission is blatantly unfair and perhaps part of a coordinated campaign against an economic reformer

The insidious campaign against Montek Singh Ahluwalia reminds us of a famous parliamentary debate in 1963, when Ram Manohar Lohia attacked the ostentatious lifestyle of Jawaharlal Nehru, arguing that the prime minister spent more on his dogs than what a poor Indian spent on his subsistence.

People who have neither the intellect nor the public service record of Lohia are using similar arguments to attack Ahluwalia. There was first the controversy about how he had run up bills averaging Rs. 2.02 lakh a day on his foreign tours. Now there is the hullabaloo about the fact that the Planning Commission has spent Rs. 35 lakh to renovate two toilets.

Notice a few things. First, the money has been spent on official duties and not, as in the case of the dogs in the Nehru house, for personal gratification. It could be reasonably claimed that such sums should not be spent even for official purposes. Then one would expect the critics to provide comparative data. How much do emissaries from other Asian countries spend when they represent their country abroad? How much have other ministries paid for their toilet blocks? How much would two large toilet blocks cost, anyway? Secure in their moral superiority, these critics will not bother with such inconvenient details. They know better, anyway.

It could be argued that all public servants should live in Gandhian austerity. But then why pick on one of the least obvious targets to make the point? Anybody with even a passing knowledge of probability theory will know that one man among hundreds in the government being asked twice in quick succession about his official expenses is unlikely to be a random event. This seems to be a coordinated attack.

Why Ahluwalia? One theory doing the rounds is that he is one of the few reformers left standing in the ruins that is the United Progressive Alliance; this campaign could scuttle his chances of becoming finance minister in case Pranab Mukherjee moves to Rashtrapati Bhavan.

This newspaper has had its conflicts with Ahluwalia. We believe that the Planning Commission he heads has little role to play in modern India; it should be shut down or at best downsized to become as a strategic think tank for the government. We have also criticized Ahluwalia for his habit of speaking like a quasi-finance minister on issues where the Planning Commission should have no public view.

But that in no way diminishes our respect for a man who has been part of a group of able policy economists which helped redesign Indian economic policy after 1980. By helping put India on a path of faster growth, these men have done far more for the poor than the busybodies and peddlers of poverty porn who are now attacking him.

 

[Singh]

Good to see sane views are there to counter the sensationalist newsitems.

 

[H.A.]

Somithings that money can't buy....

The freedom to do it anywhere, everywhere.

 

[SLASH]

It is isn't possible to spend 35 lakhs on two public toilet. 5 lakhs for a door? are u kidding me? THanks Singh for clearing it up.

 

[ejazr]

Press release from the PC

Press Information Bureau English Releases

Reports have appeared in various sections of the media about the expenditure on renovation of public toilets in the Planning Commission. The reports are based on responses given by the Planning Commission under the RTI.

It is unfortunate that what is routine maintenance and upgradation is being projected as wasteful expenditure. The toilets being repaired or renovated are public toilet blocks, and not private toilets for senior officials or Members. While the amount of Rs 30 lakh being mentioned is correct, an impression is being created that this has been spent on two toilets. This is totally false, because these toilet blocks have multiple seats in addition to separate facility for the differently abled. Each of these blocks can be simultaneously used by approximately ten people.

Every day large number of people visit and work at YojanaBhawan . More than 1,500 meetings are held every year and thousands of people use these public conveniences. A common complaint over the years was the poor quality of the toilets in the building—a complaint made not just by the ministers and foreign dignitaries who visit, but also by the staff and the journalists.

YojanaBhawan is more than fifty years old. The plumbing and sewerage systems have deteriorated causing leakages that tend to damage the structure itself. The CPWD, which is responsible for maintaining the government buildings, was asked to renovate at least one toilet block on every floor. The first three toilet blocks (on the first, second and fifth floors) were completed earlier this year by the CPWD. The remaining three toilet blocks are expected to be completed later this year. While renovating the toilets, it was found that old plumbing and sewerage systems had deteriorated, and needed almost complete replacement. Fire control systems also had to be added, in accordance with the regulatory requirements.

These toilet blocks are meant for shared use and are all being renovated to the same standard. Because there have been instances of pilferages of newly constructed toilets, an access-control system was initially tried, but not found feasible in practice. YojanaBhavan is an important public building and must have the essential facilities. The costing and execution of works is not done by the Planning Commission, but by the CPWD which is the authorized government agency to do the same. The entire work is being done within the budgetary allocation and following the prescribed procedure.

The Planning Commission strongly supports public's access to information under the RTI. From time to time, we also put answers under RTI on our website. However, answers given under RTI are naturally limited to the specific issue or query being raised. It is unfortunate that the Press has publicized motivated allegations, advanced on the basis of limited queries, without bothering to check the full facts. The media are requested to contact the Press Information Officer for comments or clarifications on any RTI based story, which will be promptly supplied. Contact number of PIO is available on our website.

 

[Cliff@sea]

 

[Payeng]

^^ Sandas made of pure gold???

 

[lcatejas]

If Mayawati can self allocate 85 cr for personal banglow than what is 35 lacs just a change... after all public TAX payer money...