Govt spent Rs 2.76cr for ex-guv's accommodation, HC told

JAIPUR: Rajasthan High Court was informed that the government had incurred expenditure of about Rs 2.76 cr towards the free accommodation provided to former governor Anshuman Singh from May 2004 to March 2015.
However, the amount was contested by the petitioner's council Vimal Chaudhary at the division bench of Chief Justice Sunil Ambwani and Ajit Singh today.He said the total expenditure is more than Rs 6 cr and the amount furnished by the AAG Dharam Veer Tholia is only of the rent of the Bungalow, electricity and fuel of the car while the other expenses like the security, maintenance of the building etc was not included. Tholia then demanded more time to reply and the posted matter after three weeks.
The Vasundhara Raje government during her first tenure had decided to give these facilities to former governor Anshuman Singh after he decided to stay back in Jaipur. The former governor was putting up in a private accommodation after his retirement.
But the government through a notification had decided to provide him free government accommodation "keeping in view the high dignity he enjoys as former governor of the state, the state government has decided to accord the facilities of free government accommodation and other facilities accorded to a former chief minister of the state till his stay here." This was challenged through the PIL.
He has been given free accommodation and other facilities equivalent to a former chief minister of the state. This is a misuse of public money, the petitioner argued former governors are not eligible for such facilities and there is no such precedent anywhere in the country. Following the PIL, he had vacated the bungalow a few months back but the petitioner now demanded that the public expenses incurred for this stay may be recovered from him as his stay was illegal.