MHA asks WB govt to clear Rs 3.61 cr pending travel expenses of Governor

In an unprecedented move, the MHA has issued a letter to Raj Bhavan asking it to clear travel expenses of Rs 3.61 crore of the Governor. The date since when the expenses have accumulated is unknown but a part of it was made during the tenure of former Governor, reports ETV Bharat's Sahajan Purkait.

Kolkata:The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has written a letter asking the West Bengal government to clear the pending travel expenses of Governor CV Ananda Bose. The letter was sent 15 days before Bose completed a year in office.

According to sources, the pending expenses amount to Rs 3.61 crore on account of airfare, helicopter fare and train fare. Of which, the Centre is supposed to get more than Rs 2.40 crore. The expenses are to be borne by the West Bengal government and so the MHA has asked it to clear the dues immediately.

According sources, Bose had summoned the state finance secretary to the Raj Bhavan on November 23, the day he completed one year in office. Bose reportedly discussed about the expense with the official.

It has been learnt that Bose himself did not incur the entire travel expenses of Rs 3.61 crore but a part of it was incurred during the tenure of the Vice-President and former Governor, Jagdeep Dhankhar. Infact, during Dhankhar's tenure, the helicopter rents are left to be cleared. Overall, the time period since when the pending dues have accumulated is not known, but sources claimed that the MHA has never issued any such letter to the Raj Bhavan seeking clearance of pending dues before.

Bose announced various scholarships and financial rewards in the last one year. Apart from the private sector's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme, a lot of money has been spent from the state government exchequer. Sources said Raj Bhavan received a financial assistance amounting to around Rs 1 crore from the State Bank of India which was spent on giving rewards to various puja committees and in other sectors.

A host of programmes have been taken up on the occasion of Bose's one-year in office. This expenses will, however, be borne under the CSR schemes of various private organisations.