Bhubaneswar: State Tourism Minister Ashok Chandra Panda seems to be the most expensive minister in the state after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik if the foreign and outside trips are to be considered under which Travel Allowances (TA) are paid.
According to a written statement Tuesday in the state legislative assembly relating to the TA of Chief Minister and other ministers disbursed by the state government in the last four years, Panda was the lone minister who availed the TA facility to travel to foreign country/countries during the period besides the Women and Child Welfare Minister Usha Devi who travelled outside the country last year.
The statement claims that the CM never took TA for travel outside the country in the past four years.
The statement was given by the state Parliamentary minister Bikram Keshari Arukha.
It says that Rs 2,45,365 was disbursed against the foreign trip/trips of Panda in 2015-16. On the other hand, Panda’s expenses on travel outside state are also among the top three among the state ministers almost every year, sometimes even more than the expenses of the CM.
In 2014-15, the TA payment for the CM stood at Rs 2,98,410 while for Panda it was pegged at Rs 4,34,719. In 2015-16, he was the third in getting the largest TA benefits after the CM and Sanjay Das Burma. His allowance stood at second highest after CM both in 2016 and also in 2017.
The minister is said to have travelled for several travel and tourism marts in as well as outside the state to boost state tourism. The Odisha Tourism Department often takes part in international travel and trade festivals in places like Berlin and London.
TRAVEL ALLOWANCES OF STATE MINISTERS
| NAME | TA DISBURSED IN 4 YRS |
| Naveen Patnaik | Rs 16.75 lakh |
| Ashok Panda | Rs 16.09 lakh |
| Sanjay Das Burma | Rs 6.79 lakh |
| Prafulla Malik | Rs 9.92 lakh |
| Pranab Prakas Das | Rs 5.23 lakh |
