Assembly watch: Rs 1 cr to defend tainted babus

The state will be footing a bill of Rs 1 crore for legal representation of its three departments involved in Adarsh scam, before a panel which itself costs Rs 1.5 cr

The Democratic Front government has been pulling out all financial stops to meet the various costs to represent its sullied department before the Adarsh inquiry commission, at the expense of the taxpayer.

The tainted departments are receiving a total sum of Rs 1 crore for legal representation in front of the two-member inquiry commission. Not to be outdone, the commission itself is costing the state exchequer no less than Rs 1.53 crore.

The state revenue department, which had allotted the controversial land in question to the Adarsh co-operative housing society near Backbay Depot in Colaba, has placed a demand for Rs 1 crore before the state, the sum to be paid as legal fees to the special counsel, the noted lawyer Anil Sakhre, deputed by the department for its representation before the inquiry commission.

An official from the department, however, insisted that the requested amount was not meant for the revenue department alone, but also for legal fees for counsel appointed by two other departments of the government.
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The two other departments in the fray are the state urban development and the environment department, both of which are being investigated by the commission for allegedly having issued no-objection certificates to the tainted society.

That is not all that the state has to dole out.

According to the supplementary demand introduced before the state legislature yesterday, for the six month extension period of inquiry, the state will have to cough up an astronomical amount of Rs 1.53 crore in order to meet the financial requirements of the two-member inquiry commission headed by retired justice JA Patil.
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Of this, Rs 65 lakh will be paid to the two members Patil and P Subramaniam, and the 22 staffers of the commission, as salary.

Patil and Subramaniam will each claim a neat kitty of Rs 1.6 lakh per month, while the remaining 22 staff members will be collectively paid Rs 8 lakh every month.
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Over the six-month extension period, this will amount to approximately Rs 65 lakh.u00a0 In addition to this, counsel Dipen Merchant, appointed by the commission, will be paid Rs 40,000 for each appearance.
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Merchant is reportedly immersed in negotiations with the state for a raise, demanding a remuneration of Rs 1 lakh for each day's appearance.

In addition to this, the commission has already incurred expenses of Rs 76 lakh in the first six months of inquiry.u00a0

Funds for cops
The state government that had sanctioned the recruitment of 10,335 posts in the state police force, has decided to pay Rs 52 crore to the state Home department for the same.
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The programme, estimated to cost the state exchequer a whopping Rs 363 crore, comprises recruitment of police officers, police constables and technical persons appointed as coastal patrollers and administrative staff.
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While Rs 77 lakh has been allotted to the intelligence department, a sum of Rs 83.45 lakh has been sanctioned for the Anti Corruption Bureau.