Act on PAC report critical of four Govt officials: BJP

MUMBAI: BJP on Tuesday asked the Maharashtra Government to take serious cognisance of a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report which has expressed displeasure over Rs 5.68-lakh excess spending on the travel of four officials not related to the Industries Department during the visit of then Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to the USA in 2005.

Addressing a press conference, party spokesman Madhav Bhandari said the excess cost should be recovered from the four officials. "The party will be writing to the Chief Minister and the Governor in this regard."

Deshmukh, accompanied by a nine-member delegation, including then Industries Minister Ashok Chavan, had travelled to the USA in June-July 2005 for promoting the state as a industrial investment destination.

Bhandari said Rs 2.3 crore was sanctioned for the trip. Of the nine members of the delegation, four of them had nothing to do with the Industries Department.

The four officials, who travelled with the delegation were Subhash Lala, then Principal secretary to the Chief Minister, A L Jarhad, Deputy secretary of Industries Department, Kamlakar Fhad, Private Secretary of the then chief minister and Satish Sawant, Personal Secretary of the then Industries Minister.

Bhandari said the PAC report is unanimous and was tabled in the Legislature during the last month's Budget session. "No member of the PAC, including Amit Deshmukh, Latur MLA and son of Vilasrao Deshmukh, objected to the findings of the report. Hence, the Government should take the report seriously and recover the expenses from the officials concerned."

BJP's Girish Bapat is the PAC Chairman.