'Foreign tours of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, ministers cost state over Rs 1.71 crore'

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh government has spent over Rs 1.71 crore on two foreign tours undertaken by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and some of his cabinet colleagues for attracting investment in the state in the current fiscal.

Replying to a question raised by Congress member Ramniwas Rawat in the winter session of the Legislative Assembly, Industries Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia said while Rs 1.28 crore was spent during the tour of the Chief Minister and others to South Africa between June 7 and June 15, the expenditure on the UAE trip, undertaken between August 19 and 22, stood at Rs 43.22 lakh.

The state government signed an MoU with a foreign company to facilitate cargo operations during Chouhan's visit to Dubai, she said.

The minister clarified that the exact value of the proposed investment by the company cannot be known as the MoU did not mention the figure.

"However, the MoU has not been scrapped," she added.