A cabinet meeting is scheduled to take place in Marathwada on September 17. The entire cabinet will convene in Marathwada for this meeting. The opposition has accused the government of spending lakhs of rupees on providing accommodation and meals for these ministers.
The Leader of the Opposition in the state, Vijay Wadettiwar, alleged that the contract for catering the food at the cabinet meeting has been awarded to Namrata Caterers, with each plate costing between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500. He shared this information in a tweet.
Vijay Wadettiwar, the Leader of the Opposition, expressed his concerns about the government's priorities. He questioned whether ministers attending the cabinet meeting on the 17th in Marathwada were coming for a tourism excursion. He pointed out that this government's decision to organize the meeting in a five-star hotel was unprecedented. Marathwada is currently grappling with a high number of suicides, with an average of 100-125 suicides reported in each district in August alone. Farmers in the region are facing considerable distress, and a total of 96 talukas are reeling from drought conditions. The key question he raised was why such an extravagant arrangement was deemed necessary for a cabinet meeting when Marathwada is in the midst of a severe drought crisis, he said in a video.
He noted that previous cabinet meetings didn't involve five-star accommodations; ministers like Vishwasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan stayed at guest houses.
Vijay Wadettiwar shared a post on X in which he mentioned the list of ministers' expenses.
- Booking of 30 rooms in a Five Star Hotel (for Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and All Ministers)
- Booking of 40 rooms in the Taj Hotel (for All Secretaries)
- Booking of 70 rooms in Amarpreet Hotel (for Deputy Secretary, Private Secretary)
- Booking of 40 rooms in Ajanta Ambassador (for Deputy Secretary, Private Secretary)
- Mahasul Prabhodhini 100 (for Security Guards and Drivers)
- Patidar Bhawan 100 rooms (for Security Guards and Drivers)
- Walmi, Sinchan, Mahavitaran, Subhedari Guest House 20 rooms (for Other Officers)
A total of 150 cars have been rented from Nashik, and an additional 150 cars have been rented in Aurangabad city. Namrata Caters has been awarded the catering contract for the cabinet meeting, with the cost of a plate ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500.