The Non-Resident Keralite's Affairs (NORKA) Department is playing hide and seek on how much money it spent on flying in and out delegates from foreign countries.Thiruvananthapuram: The Pinarayi government is unwilling to disclose the amount it spent on last month's Loka Kerala Sabha, an initiative to connect Keralites across the world with their home state.
The Non-Resident Keralite's Affairs (NORKA) Department is playing hide and seek on how much money it spent on flying in and out delegates from foreign countries.
An RTI query sought how much money did the government spent on airfare for bringing in members for the Loka Kerala Sabha. The reply given by NORKA said that no airfare was given to the delegates. But, as requested by them, the delegates were given return air tickets to Thiruvananthapuram. But NORKA doesn't reveal how much it paid from government coffers to purchase air tickets for participants from outside the country.
In fact, NORKA relied on technicality of the query to evade a direct reply. When asked about the query to appeal in-charge NORKA general manager, he said that it is the prerogative of the information officer on how to reply.
The government had also refrained from giving a reply in the Assembly when a query on the airfare was raised. To an RTI query on the total cost of the event, NORKA replied that the final figures are not available yet.
The Loka Kerala Sabha was held on January 12 and 13 with the participation of 351 members. There were allegations right from the beginning that there was corruption in the way the members were chosen. Though the government said that Rs 5 crore was spent, it looks like the government splurged on the event but is shying away from revealing it.
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