Himachal chief secretary Prabodh Saxena hosted a get-together and luncheon on Holi. The lunch was held at Hotel Holiday Home (HHH), a Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) property.
As amany as 75 people including 20 IAS officers, their spouses and children attended the party besides 22 drivers.
The Hotel Holiday Home sent bill, which amounted to Rs 1.22 lakh, to General Administration Department (GAD) for payment.
The GAD held the payment as questions were raised about whether the state exchequer should pay the bill.
Saxena, a 1991 batch IAS officer was due to retire on March 31, 2025. He has been given six months extension.
An HPTDC source said that after the High Court took serious note of the poor financial performance of HPTDC-run hotels last year, the department cannot afford to overlook unpaid bills. The matter was discussed at the senior level and the bill was forwarded to GAD, which is yet to decide on whether to pay the bill or not, he said.
Earlier this year, a similar controversy had erupted when former chief secretary and former Himachal RERA chief Shrikant Baldi had come under scanner for distributing Apple boxes to IAS and IPS officers using RERA funds.
Holi celebration spend within rules
Prabodh Saxena said that no rules were violated in this matter.
“I didn't go beyond the rules and regulations applied to government servants. There were no personal friends of mine. The matter is with the GAD.”
However opposition has trained the gun at the Congress government.
BJP Jaswan-Pragpur MLA and former minister Bikram Thakur attacked the state government over the matter, terming it “a blatant violation of democratic values, ethical conduct and administrative decorum”.
According to officials, chief secretaries of various states organise such Holi celebrations.
“It's mostly contributory or sponsored. There is hardly any provision under which exchequer can pay for such kind of get together,” said an IAS officer based in Rajasthan.
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