Keraleeyam: State govt has no record of amount collected through sponsorship, reveals RTI
There has been severe criticism against the Kerala government for their failure to publish the cost estimate of 'Keraleeyam' which was held from November 1 to 7 to showcase the achievements and cultural heritage to the world.
FollowThiruvananthapuram: Keraleeyam, the 7-day long event that was organised in November as part of Kerala Day by the LDF-led Pinarayi government was severely criticised by the Opposition for its extravagant expenses amid the financial crisis in the state. Now, an RTI report stated that the government's claim that it collected the highest amount through sponsorship, does not have details of the amount collected by the GST department.
The Public Relations Department (PRD) and the General Administration Department were the only agencies to offer comprehensive responses to requests for information on sponsorship-related expenses and funding made possible under the Right To Information (RTI) Act. Citing a lack of availability, all other departments declined to give the data.
The GST department did not respond to any query including the name of the sponsors and the details of the amount received. There was a big political controversy when the GST department was appointed to collect the operating expenses of Kerala.
This is followed by the strange response of the GST department to the questions given under the Right to Information Act about Keralayam sponsorship. According to the Right to Information Act, 12 questions were asked, including how much was spent on Keraleeyam, how many sponsors were there, and how much money was received, but the department did not answer any of them.
It has been revealed that among the sponsors are individuals who are being sued for tax cheating. The accusation that the government has concealed a significant irregularity under the pretence of Keraleeyam has intensified with the appointment of GST personnel for the collection. Both the GST collection and the entirety of the sponsorship data are still unknown.
The response to the Request for Information (RTI) on "sponsorship" disclosed that no department maintains any documentation on the entire cost of the event, despite the bold assertions of multiple ministers that the government had not incurred any significant financial liability in organising the event and that many of the programmes were sponsored.
