Rs 3.26 crore spent by Goa government on GST council meeting

Rs 3.26 crore have been spent by the Goa government in order to host a two-day long GST council meeting, said advocate and social activist Aires Rodrigues. The RTI information obtained by Rodrigues reveals that Vasco-based Vinsan Graphics was hired by Goa State Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) as the event management agency. The state exchequer paid Rs 1.95 crores to the event company. To ferry the dignitaries, which included cabinet ministers of various states and GST officials, GTDC hired 200-odd taxis for which Rs 97.80 lakh was the estimated cost. It was shown by the RTI documents that GTDC had initially estimated a need for 360 tourist taxis.
“This was a fit case for the Lokayukta to probe as it is fraudulent act of gross maladministration by way of astronomical expenditure incurred on the GST meet,” Rodrigues said. Documents reveal that the commercial taxes department paid Rs 25 lakh as advance payment for the taxis to GTDC. Officials were put up at Cidade de Goa and Double Tree by Hilton for which an estimated expenditure of Rs 30 lakh and Rs 15.20 lakh was incurred, the RTI documents show.

“It is extremely anguishing that a government which had no funds to remedy the potholed roads of Goa had the audacity to have needlessly spent crores in holding this petty meeting in a 5 star hotel when it could have been held at the secretariat or the International Centre at Dona Paula,” said Rodrigues. A government official said that every state government is expected to host the GST council meetings by rotation and the respective state government has to bear all the cost for hosting the GST council members.