Shimla: A relatively small amount of Rs 1.20 lakh has landed Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena in a controversy, and sparked outrage. A Holi party hosted by him on 14 March at Hotel Holiday Home (HHH), managed by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC), has become a matter of public debate after the Rs 1,22,020 bill was sent to the state’s General Administration Department (GAD).
The details about the bill, which is yet to be cleared, were leaked online, prompting sharp social media criticism, especially as the Congress government led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has vowed to cut wasteful expenditure amid a fiscal crunch.
Former Additional Chief Secretary Deepak Sanan was vocal in his criticism. “One should set an example for others, especially (when one is) at this post. By paying the bill himself (he) would have set an example for other officers,” Sanan told ThePrint. “I don’t see government rules permitting such spending.”
Another retired IAS officer, who served as chief secretary, told ThePrint requesting anonymity, such instances defame the entire civil servants’ fraternity. “To the public, it paints us as freeloaders. It’s high time, we protect the image of the civil services and avoid actions that tarnish it.”
The Holi party at the plush HHH in Shimla was attended by senior officials, their families, and some non-government guests. According to the bill sent to the GAD, lunch and snacks were served to 75 officers, and their wives and children, with each plate costing Rs 1,000.
Additionally, lunch and snacks for 22 drivers along with taxi charges were included, bringing the total to Rs 1,22,020.
An HPTDC official told ThePrint the chief secretary’s office booked the premises and instructed HPTDC to forward the bill to the GAD. Neither the chief secretary’s office nor the GAD has responded to queries about the booking. ThePrint has also reached Saxena for comment. This report will be updated if and when he responds.
Saxena has, however, told Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar that the governor, the chief minister, and the chief secretary can organise such parties, even attended by people other than government officials. “It is a routine practice,” he told the newspaper.
Saxena, a 1990-batch IAS officer, was set to retire on 31 March, 2025, but secured a six-month extension from the Union Department of Personnel and Training. He himself announced the extension at a farewell dinner hosted by the Himachal IAS Officers’ Association on 29 March, surprising colleagues who had prepared to bid him goodbye.
The extension has delayed the elevation of IAS officers such as Sanjay Gupta (1988 batch) and Kamlesh Kumar Pant (1993 batch) who are waiting in the wings.
BJP MLA and former state unit president Satpal Singh Satti told ThePrint, “This is the new ‘vyavastha’ (arrangement) that the chief secretary’s party bill was sent to the public, especially when the state’s finances are in stress.
“Government funds should not be spent on personal parties. I don’t think it has happened earlier. This may be part of a new ‘vyavastha’, but the government should work as per rules, and even if rules permit, wasteful expenditure should be cut down.”
This is not the first time Saxena finds himself in the midst of a controversy.
In 2019, his name surfaced in the INX Media case, a money laundering case involving former Union finance minister P. Chidambaram. Saxena, then a senior official in the finance ministry, was named in the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet over alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance for INX Media.
The case remains under trial in Delhi courts, with Saxena seeking exemption from personal appearance citing official duties.
(Edited by Ajeet Kumar Tiwari)
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