More Food for Thought

Do State politicians live to eat?

Making a meal of it –1

Study your politicians’ food-spend sheet (the second in the series) and you are made to believe they have dedicated their lives to literally perform between gourmet meals while working up an appetite for the next, all for the sake of Goa’s development. Rs2,44,503 was spent between May 2004 and April 2008 on dining out ministers and MLAs, this time by Pratapsing Rane. Add that to the Rs7,77,968 (see Herald May 6 ‘Do State politicians live to eat’) between July 2004 and January 2008 spent by Digambar Kamat to entertain our politicians; it works out to a whopping Rs10,22,471. There’s more to it. And you still don't have a garbage disposal in your vicinity. While you contemplate on that imagine the garbage created by all that gorging.

September 2006 was an expensive month for the tax payer as Rane’s entertainment bill was a sizzling Rs9,68,100 that included a Rs6,38,948 shindig he threw for some lawyers and a Rs2,47,500 jamboree for some French teachers who came calling. Rane also overindulged the Global Goans Convention 2007 throwing a Rs4,51,980 bash which, added to the Rs37,54,670 spent by the NRI commissioner Eduardo Faleiro who assembled together a select few non-resident Goans in Goa for what fundamentally was a back-slapping event, is an indication of how crores of your precious rupees are wasted on the hoity toity while the hoi polloi can scramble for a few crumbs.

If proof be needed, check this out. On June 15, 2006 Rane spent Rs5,30,975 dining out UNDP delegates including members of the Planning Commission. This figure includes a Rs52,995 dinner hosted by the Chief Secretary JP Singh for the Planning Commission members only on June 14.

Could anybody be that hungry to gorge on such humungous amounts of food? Over three nights on June 21 and 22, call it monsoon magic because surely the rains must have given them an appetite, a total of Rs2,15,891 was spent dining out a Parliamentary Standing Committee, ironically enough , on social justice and empowerment.

Pratapsingh Rane

04.05.04 -dinner for Prof. Arthur G. Rubinoff, Toronto University at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs7,097.

05.07.04 –dinner for 16 invitees at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs9,951.

13.08.04 –dinner for 12 invitees at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs9,218.

23.09.04 -dinner for a visiting doctor at Fort Aguada –Rs9,625.

02.01.05 –dinner for Prabhakar Narvekar, ex-member, IMF (International Monetary Fund) at Cidade de Goa –Rs7,651.

04.02.05 –lunch for ministers at Hotel Majestic –Rs4,833.

26.02.05 –dinner for invitees at Cidade de Goa –Rs33,307.

28.02.05 –lunch for MLAs at Café Ritz –Rs2,230.

03.03.05 –lunch for MLAs at Café Ritz –Rs2,556.

02.03.05 –lunch for MLAs at Café Ritz –Rs2,155.

04.03.05 –lunch for MLAs at Café Ritz –Rs2,465.

07.06.05 –lunch for ministers, MLAs, select journalists at Cidade de Goa –Rs99,859.

19.06.05 –dinner for Kirit S. Parikh, Planning Commission at Fort Aguada –Rs11,138.

02.07.05 –dinner for Justices SN S N Variava, Dalveer Bhandari at Fort Aguada –Rs27,225.

09.07.05 –lunch for Dr. Pailoyami, cardioligst at Cidade de Goa –Rs5,771.

12.07.05 –dinner for editors at Cidade de Goa –Rs26,463.

14.07.05 –lunch at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs10,880.

22.08.05 -lunch for officials at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs3,520.

24.08.05 –lunch for officials at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs3,520.

30.08.05 –dinner for select journalists (local, national) at Mandovi –Rs26,066.

01.09.05 –lunch at Cidade de Goa at Rs26,175.

14.09.05 –dinner for Vice Chancellors at Cidade de Goa –Rs60,681.

22.09.05 -dinner for 150 at Shankar Chaya Bar –Rs9,960.

29.09.04 –dinner at Goa Marriott –Rs14,861.

17.10.05 –dinner for international conference on culture of knowledge at International Centre –Rs26,618.

25.10.05 –lunch for Planning Board, Goa at Sher-e-Punhjab –Rs17,500.

14.11.05 -dinner for young US politicians at Fort Aguada –Rs63,000 (UK Worah, the Health Secretary also splurged Rs15,210 on them at the Goa Marriott.)

21.11.05 –lunch for five at FABR, Sinquerim –Rs.5,625.

03.12.05 –dinner for sub-jr. National Kabaddi Championship players at Damador Restaurant –Rs35,000.

12.12.05 -lunch for Nagaland, Mizoram cultural troupe at Kala Academy –Rs6,050.

19.12.05 -lunch for WB Speaker at Cidade de Goa –Rs3,482.

09.01.06 -dinner at Kala Academy at Rs3,300.

10.01.06 -dinner for ten at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs8,985.

26.01.06 -lunch for social workers at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs37,800.

07.02.06 -dinner for 12 at FABR –Rs15,946.

13.02.06 –lunch for minister, others at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs6,000.

22.02.06 -dinner for Sonia Gandhi at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs47,725.

22.03.06 -dinner for ministers, MLAs at Sher-e-Punjab -Rs14,225.

13.04.06 -lunch for Keith Vaz at Cidade de Goa –Rs11,374.

20.05.06 -dinner for 50 at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs36,000.

10.06.06 -dinner for Chief Justice of India and HC Judges at FABR –Rs1,04,164.

15.06.06 –dinner for UNDP delegates and Planning Commission at Taj Exotica –Rs4,77,980 (On June 14 the Chief Secretary JP Singh also spent Rs52,995 entertaining Planning Commission members.)

22.06.06 –dinner for Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice & Empowerment at Cidade de Goa –Rs55,615 (On June 22 JP Singh spent Rs52,594 on lunch while Subhash Shirodkar spent Rs1,07,682 on dinner on June 21.)

21.07.06 –lunch for 65 at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs23,400.

31.07.06 –lunch for ministers, MLAs at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs16,200.

05.09.06 –lunch for member, Planning Board at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs23,400.

07.09.06 -dinner for French teachers at FABR –Rs2,47,500.

08.09.06 -lunch for 42 –Rs15,120.

11.09.06 –lunch for 5 at FABR –Rs4,612.

29.09.06 –lunch for ministers, officers at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs20,520.

30.09.06 –dinner for West Zone Inter State Badminton Championship officials by Luan Caterers –Rs18,000 (Digambar Kamat also spent Rs18,000 on September 29)

30.09.06 –dinner for 200 lawyers at Taj Exotica –Rs6,38,948.

05.10.06 –lunch for 20 at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs9,720.

19.10.06 –lunch for 15 at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs4,500.

24.10.06 -dinner for 15 at Ritz Class –Rs5,250.

05.12.06 –lunch for ministers, MLA at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs9,720.

14.12.06 –dinner for MLAs, social workers at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs24,480.

03.01.07 –dinner for Global Goans Convention 2007 at Taj Holiday –Rs4,51,980.

05.01.07 -lunch for ministers at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs11,520.

23.01.07 –lunch at Sher-e-Punjab Rs7,200.

31.01.07 -dinner for JBIC delegates at FABR –Rs72,563.

08.02.07 –dinner for EWW India Forum at Tax Exotica –Rs6,28,929.

08.02.07 –breakfast for Lisbon Vice Mayor at Cidade Goa –Rs5,145.

12.02.07 –lunch for minister at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs5,400.

15.02.07 –lunch at Goa Marriott –Rs70,300.

02.03.07 –dinner for Malaysian tourism minister at FABR –Rs86,940.

05.03.07 –lunch for ruling ministers, MLAs at Sher-e-Punjab Rs12,240.

20.03.07 –lunch for ruling ministers, MLAs at RM Canteen –Rs10,100.

14.04.07 –dinner for State Kabaddi Championship by Arti Caterers –Rs45,000.

14.04.07 –lunch for 15 at Sher-e-Punjab –Rs8,663.

20.04.07 –lunch for 6 at Mandovi –Rs14,515.

Total spent on entertainment was Rs39,72,941 of which entertaining Goa's ministers and MLAs cost Rs2,44,503 between May 2004 and April 2007.

The government’s food bill so far:

Digambar Kamat Rs36,47,744

Pratapsing Rane Rs39,72,941

Total Rs76,20,685