Corpn. gobbles up lakhs for snacks

By R. K. Radhakrishnan

CHENNAI, JAN. 24. How much snacks can you have in a day?

If you are among the privileged few in the Corporation, you could eat snacks and drink tea/coffee/health drinks/soft drinks for more than a thousand rupees every day.

The past four years have seen the Chennai Corporation council, its various committees and leaders spend nearly Rs. 20 lakhs on snacks alone.

At least this is what a twice-withdrawn draft resolution in the Taxation and Finance Committee says. The document made its first appearance in November 2000 in the Committee and was withdrawn before ``any damage'' was done, according to some of its members. This again made its appearance in the January sitting as table agenda, but was again withdrawn. The reason given according to the members: the ruling party members, realising the potential damage a leak could cause think that it is better to discuss the issue with the Mayor before adopting it. The resolution should be approved by the Committee and put up to the Council for its ratification.

In the financial year 1996-97 (the council had its first meet only in October, 1996) the council members had snacks worth just over two lakhs. The next year, this amount more than doubled and stood at Rs. 4.92 lakhs; in 1998-99 there was a `wild dip' to Rs. 3.11 lakhs and in 1999-2000, this figure dropped even further to Rs. 2.66 lakhs. The total - a cool Rs. 12 lakhs plus. All the standing committees, irrespective of which party councillor heads it, have uniformly run up bills of over Rs. 50,000 each to meet once every month in the past four years.

In just over four years, the Council's apex committee, the Appointments Committee (which has just four members - the Mayor, the Commissioner, the Leaders of the Opposition and ruling parties and meets just once every month), are credited with gobbling up snacks worth Rs. 36,000. In one year, 1997-98, the committee ran up a bill of over Rs. 14,000 - more than Rs. 1,000 per meeting for snacks.

``I do not remember eating so much,'' says the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. P. Vetrivel. ``This looks like just another venue to cheat the Corporation,'' he adds.

Mr. Vetrivel can afford to talk: for he is the only exception to the rule. Though he and his team spend a large part of their day at the Ripon Building after the DMK-TMC honeymoon ended, he ran up a total bill of only Rs. 780 for the four years.

The ruling party leader, by contrast, has run up a bill from just over Rs. 500 in 1996-97 to over Rs.9000 the next year; the DMK whip too has high bills. In 1996-97, he spent only Rs. 279 while the next year, he ordered snacks worth Rs. 6,293.

``You should look at the scale here. If some important person comes to meet the Mayor, it is always possible that there is some expenditure on snacks or a cup of coffee. There are many who come everyday to meet him,'' explains an official. ``And you should realise that we are talking about four years and a Corporation which has had a total budget of nearly Rs. 2,000 crores,'' he adds.

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