Squandering public exchequer

This is the travesty of the UPA-Government that on the one hand Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh advocates for austerity in expenditure in view of the sagging economy and Planning Commission whose business is to keep vigil on the expenses incurred by states and central ministries spends public money lavishly on toilet renovation on the other. Planning Commission is headed by none other than Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia who is an economist in his own right and is expected to be well aware of the tight economic situation in the country. He is making mockery of the poverty prevailing in the nation. This is the same Planning Commission whose standard parameter of measuring poverty is most awkward, non-sensical and insensitive when it recommens that in rural area the people who have the income of Rs 26 a day and in urban area Rs. 32 are not poor. How insensitive to poverty is Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia can be judged from his defence of spending Rs. 35 lakhs of public exchequer on renovation and making swanky toilets at Planning Commission by saying that the expense is within the budget. Knowing the slump in economy, he spent Rs 35 lakh on building high-profile toilets at Planning Commission . High profile toilets appear to have caught the fancy of some UPA ministers. The issue of Rs 35 lakh toilet has come before the Cabinet meeting and many ministers also appear to have shown their keenness to have access to the swanky toilets. The Planning Commission, mandated to keep a watchful eye on expenses incurred by states and central ministries, has found it hard to justify spending Rs 35 lakh of public money on renovation of two toilets at its headquarters, Yojana Bhavan. The commission is under attack from all corners for wasting a large sum of public money in constructing swanky toilets at a time when the UPA top brass is preaching austerity measures to revive the sagging economy. It has termed the expenditure as a routine maintenance and upgrades work, and argued that it was unfortunate to call it a wasteful expenditure. It is most unfortunate for the nation to be ruled by a bunch of insensitive economists who have made mockery of the poor people during UPA-II. Main opposition BJP has rightly slammed the UPA government for talking austerity and engaging in wasteful expenditure. It was surprising for many that Plan panel deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has himself come out to defend the expenditure. The reports of wanton expenses raised eyebrows within the commission as well. Even some members of the Commission found it hard to agree with the huge expenditure. Entire nation is aghast at the insensitive attitude adopted by the UPA-II government towards the poor.