30 Kg Snacks, 14 Kg Dry Fruits And More: ₹85,000 Bill For MP's Bhadwahi Village Choupal Triggers Probe

(MENAFN- Live Mint) An extravagant party for about two dozen people in Madhya Pradesh featured a lavish menu, including 14 kilos of dry fruits , 30 kilos of snacks and a good 9 kilos of fresh fruits.

The menu for a handful of guests, including the district collector, senior officials, panchayat representatives and some villagers, turned a simple village“choupal” into a costly affair amounting to nearly ₹85,000.

The incident reportedly occurred in Bhadwahi village in Shahdol and came to light only after the bill, put up by the panchayat for reimbursement , went viral on social media.

The choupal was held under the Jal Ganga Samvardhan Mission, an initiative for water conservation .

According to a Times of India report, the lengthy bill for the choupal has attracted a probe, which was ordered by none other than the Shahdol district collector, Kedar Singh, who said he“did not eat any of the dry fruits”.

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Kedar Singh, Shahdol DC, said,“I do not eat dry fruits, and I didn't eat any at the meeting either. I left early.” While ordering a probe into the matter, Singh promised action against those found guilty.

“As these bills have come to my notice, I have ordered a probe, headed by the Gopaharu Janpad Panchayat CEO. Action would be taken against those found guilty,” Singh told TOI.

“It is good if locals who were also present at the event were provided with food. But how could so much of the dry fruits be used?” Singh questioned.

In-charge district panchayat CEO, Mudrika Singh, who was also present at the event, said,“It was dark. I could not see the dry fruits and their quantity.”

“We are examining the bills; there were a lot of people there. Action would be taken against those found guilty,” she added.

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The items on the menu include:

• Cashews (Kaju) - 6 kg
• Raisins (Kismis) – 3 kg
• Almond (Badam) – 5 kg
• Sugar – 5 kg
• Milk – 6 litres
• Bananas – 5 dozen
• Pomegranate (Anar) – 3 kg
• Grapes – 3 kg
• Apple – 3 kg
• Snacks – 30 kg

It also includes the price of poori, sabzi and tent bill.

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However, Govind Gupta, the owner of the Kirana Store, whose bill has been used against the purchase of dry fruits and 30 kg of snacks, said no snacks were purchased from his store.“Bills must be for other expenses,” Gupta told TOI.

This incident comes days after social media outrage over a ₹1.07 lakh bill for painting two government schools, one in Sakandi and the other in Nipaniya village, under MP's Beohari tehsil.

The bills allegedly claim that 168 labourers and 65 masons were used to apply just four litres of paint at one school, while 275 workers and 150 masons were assigned for 20 litres at another.

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