Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar B. Khandre has said the issue of settling the outstanding bills of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stay at a hotel in Mysuru last year and the expenditure incurred for the Project Tiger golden jubilee event will be resolved amicably.
Responding to the report that appeared in The Hindu on May 25, 2024, on the non-settlement of bills, Mr. Khandre said the Prime Minister was in Mysuru in connection with the golden jubilee event of Project Tiger but the State government had no role in it.
“As the Assembly elections had already been declared in Karnataka and the model code of conduct was in force, there was no involvement of the State government,” said Mr. Khandre.
He pointed out that even the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai did not take part and nor was the State emblem used during the three-day programme. As it was entirely the programme of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, it is the Centre’s obligation to clear the pending amount, including the expenses incurred for the stay of the Prime Minister, Mr. Khandre added.
The cost of the event ran up to ₹6.33 crore and initially, the NTCA agreed to foot the bill but it has now cleared only ₹3 crore and the balance amount, including hotel bills of Mr. Modi’s stay amounting to ₹80.6 lakh, was yet to be settled, said the Minister and expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved amicably.
A senior bureaucrat who spoke to The Hindu said the issue could have been handled better and described it as a purely technical or procedural matter that need to be resolved.
The turn of events also highlights the need for a modern facility with state-of-the-art amenities that also meets state guests’ security requirements during their visit to Mysuru. A proposal for such a facility and an annexe to the existing Government House was made by then Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep in 2018 but it has remained on paper.
