The lavish menu: Did officials munch 12kg dry fruits, 30kg snacks at panchayat meet in MP's Shahdol?

BHOPAL: About two dozen people munched some 12kg of dry fruits, nine kg of fruits and 30kg of snacks at a panchayat meeting (choupal) in Bhadwahi village of Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh.The district collector and other senior officials, panchayat representatives and some villagers were present at the meeting, but nobody seems to know who polished off the snacks and dry fruits. The choupal was held on May 25 under the Jal Ganga Samvardhan Mission, an initiative aimed at water conservation.The bills of the choupal ‘party’, totalling Rs 85,000, put up by the panchayat for reimbursement, have gone viral on social media, prompting the Shahdol district collector to order a probe.According to the bills, 6kg of cashews, 3kg raisins, 3kg almonds, 9kg of fruits, 5 dozen bananas and 30kg of snacks were purchased. TOI is in possession of these bills. A total of nine such bills are making the rounds on social media.This matter has surfaced days after it came to light that 168 labourers and 65 masons were hired to paint a school in the district with 4 litres ofpaint, while 275 workers and 150 masons were engaged for painting another school with 20 litres of paint.When TOI asked theShahdol district collector, Kedar Singh, about the abnormally large quantity of dry fruits consumed at an official meeting at a time when stategovt has embarked on strict austerity measures and is seeking loans from institutions to meet its expenses, he said, “I do not eat dry fruits and I didn’t eat it at the meeting either. I left early. As these bills have come to my notice, I have ordered a probe by Gopaharu janpad panchayat CEO. Action would be taken against those found guilty.”“It is good if locals who were also present at the event were provided with food, but how can so much dry fruit be used?” he quipped.Govind Gupta, owner of the grocery store in Bharri village from where the items were purchased, as per thebills, told TOI : “No snacks were purchased from my store. Bills must be for other expenses.”In-charge district panchayat CEO, Mudrika Singh, who was also present at the event, said: “It was dark. I could not see the dry fruits and its quantity. We are examining the bills. There were a lot of people there. Action would be taken against those found guilty.”Gopaharu Janpad panchayat CEO, Ved Mani Mishra, has asked the panchayat convener to examine the matter. “The official will be visiting the village on Friday,” Mishra said.