Letters to the Editor .

Here is my latest offering to the Editor of The Hitavada . I will let you know the fate of this offreing in couple of days .

Sir ,

Once the great lady Sonia Gandhi mentioned that in these hard time all need to follow money saving ways , most of the ministers and politicians have jumped on the "austerity band wagon ". Austerity has become the latest buzz word . After ensuring adequate publicity , travel by train and by "cattle class" in airlines has become the norm . Latest to join this band wagon is our respected Corporate Affairs Minister Mr Salman Khurshid who has come out with idea of placing a cap on the salaries of CEO's of India Inc.Latest statement is "display of affluence is unacceptable".
I would like to submit the following for consideration of general public , the AAM ADAMI & those in the Government .

1. Marriages of sons/daughter : We all have seen photographs and news coverage of marriages of sons and daughters of these elected representatives . I am sure all will agree that austerity was the last thought in these worthies mind when they were celebrating these functions!
2. Costly cavalcades .Between April 2005 and March 2008 ministers and officials of 44 ministries travelled over 11.40 crore KMs locally and spent 58.54 crores or Rs 7.9 lakhs per day . An Average sarkari car travels 157 km per day . ( Source : India Today October 5 , 2009 .)
3. Jumbo Cabinet : India had 18 Ministries in 1947 . Nehru's cabinet had 22 ministers.Must the Government have 78 Ministries? If 20 ministries which are outdated and where the onus of implementationis is with the States are wound up the Government could save over Rs 75,000 crore. ( Source : India Today October 5 , 2009 .)
4. Palatial Plots : Between 2005-09 93.5 crore was spent on the up gradation of houses of MPs and Ministers . Since June 2009 eight ministers have renovated offices for Rs 78.41 Lacs. Should they be put up in bangalows valued at over Rs 100 crore . ( Source : India Today October 5 , 2009 .)
5. Gross leakage : This year Rs 1,24,000 crore will be spent on rural development and poverty reduction.But do the benifits reach the poor . Rajeev Gandhi had said only 15 paise of a rupee reaches the poor . To deliver subsidised grain worth Re 1, Govt spends Rs 3.65. Why this can not be fixed . ( Source : India Today October 5 , 2009 .)
6. Project Delays.: As of May 2009, 310 of the 591 Government projects are delayed. While the sanctioned costs have already gone up by nearly 10 per cent to Rs 5,74,429 crore, final costs are estimated to go up by 38 per cent or Rs 1,70,000 crore . ( Source : India Today October 5 , 2009 .)
7. Pay & Perks of an MP .:On paper, the salary of an MP in India is Rs 144,000 per year (about $3,200), which works out to just Rs 12,000 (about $266) per month.

But it is meagre only if you don't consider the numerous allowances and freebies an MP is entitled to. Here is a look at the allowances and perks that every MP -- India has 790 of them -- enjoys.

Each Indian MP gets:

• Rs 14,000 (about $311) for office expenses every month, which includes Rs 3,000 for stationary items, Rs 1,000 on franking of letters and Rs 10,000 for secretariat services.
• A monthly constituency allowance of Rs 10,000.
• A daily allowance of Rs 500 when Parliament is in session. Parliament has three sessions every year. The Budget Session (February to May), Monsoon session (July to September), and Winter session (November and December).
• A daily travel allowance of Rs 8 per kilometre.
• Each MP and his spouse or companion are entitled to unlimited, free, first class railway travel anywhere in the country.
• They can also travel anywhere in India -- with a spouse or companion -- 40 times by air free of cost every year, business class.
• An MP gets a sprawling bungalow in the heart of New Delhi [ Images ] for which he pays a rent of just Rs 2,000 (about $44) per month.
• Each MP gets near-free electricity of 50,000 units every year. And free water.
• The MP's bungalow is furnished -- with air conditioners, refrigerators and television sets -- free of cost. Maintenance of the house -- including washing of sofa covers and curtains -- is done free of cost by the government.
• MPs are entitled to three phone lines and 170,000 free local calls every year.
• When an MP travels abroad officially, he is entitled to free business class air tickets. He is also paid a daily travelling allowance, which varies depending upon the country being visited.
• Most medical expenses of MPs are taken care of by the Contributory Health Service Scheme of the Union government.
• Each MP also gets Rs 20 million (about $434,782) each year from the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Fund. But the MP does not get the money directly. Instead, it is transferred to respective district headquarters where projects are being implemented.
• After an MP completes a term in office, he is entitled to pension. The basic monthly pension amount is Rs 3,000 (about $66). But it goes up according to the number of years an MP has served in Parliament.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General of India last year alleged that many MPs have violated norms in the usage of this money. ( Source http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/13spec.htm )

Those in the Government, Ministers , MPs ,MLAs , MLCs , The IAS cader et all will do well to do some thing about the above mentioned factors and lot more aspects of similar nature before opening their mouth about the word AUSTERITY.

PM Velankar, Nagpur .