6 years on, govt clears Rs 5L travel bill

NEW DELHI: The controversy over a Rs 5 lakh travel bill that remained unpaid for the last six years may soon come to an amicable end. A proposal concerning the pending bill payment of Rs 5 lakhs spent for a tour undertaken by then Mayor Satbir Singh and MCD commissioner Rakesh Mehta to Washington DC in 2005 was cleared by the standing committee on Wednesday.Now the civic agency will bear the cost of the trip.
But some councillors demanded that the bill amount should be recovered from Rakesh Mehta, who is presently serving as the state election commissioner. “Why should the MCD pay this bill? Those who went for the trip should pay. Why should public money be used to settle their bill?” asked an MCD councilor, who is also the member of the standing committee.