MoF says can't spend public money on iftar, but govt spent Rs 1.75 cr in 10 yrs

New Delhi : The Prime Minister's Office, External Affairs Ministry, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats and Central Public Works Department (CPW-D) have spent Rs 1.75 crore on 18 iftar parties over the past 10 years even though the Ministry of Finance (MoF) maintains that public funds can't be used for such events.

In fact, responses of different departments to an RTI application filed by The Indian Express, seeking details of expenses on iftar parties - not a few of which were hosted in the past decade - reveal a lack of clarity about rules regarding such expenditure. While the MoF's Department of Expenditure said expenses on iftar parties are not allowed from the state exchequer - it also said the host departments didn't seek its permission for such parties - other departments maintained otherwise.

The Rajya Sabha Secretariat, which has spent Rs 22.75 lakh on five iftar parties since 2007-08, said: "Yes, the secretariat bears expenses incurred in this regard." When asked under which rule, it replied: "There is no rule. It is as per the convention." It, however, added that "expenditure is met on shared basis in the ratio of 2:1 between the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the Ministry of External Affairs."

The Lok Sabha Secretariat said spending public money on iftar parties was allowed and that it has spent Rs 5.83 lakh on two such parties in 2010 and 2011. "Expenditure on iftar parties is met from the hospitality grant of the Lok Sabha Secretariat," it added.

The PMO's response to the RTI request, on the other hand, was interesting: its reply to almost all queries about iftar parties was that "information sought is not a part of records held by this office". The PMO has hosted six iftar parties since 2004 at a cost of Rs 1.03 crore, which, it said, was borne by the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) and the CPWD.

The MEA, on its part, said it has spent about Rs 41.48 lakh on 10 iftar parties, including the ones hosted by the PMO, since 2004. But to all other queries on the matter, it replied: "No specific information available".

Source: The Indian Express