Chandigarh, December 15
Large-scale irregularities have come to light in the Chandigarh Tourism Department following a question raised in the Lok Sabha by Member of Parliament and former Union Minister Manish Tewari. Tewari revealed that expenditure shown in the name of tourism-related activities in Chandigarh is highly startling. Over the last three financial years, an amount of Rs 33.26 crore was reportedly spent on tourism activities. Of this total, nearly one-third – Rs 11.84 crore—was paid to artists and other vendors, while there is no clear accounting for the remaining approximately Rs 22 crore.
Tewari alleged that both the Central Government and the Chandigarh Administration deliberately avoided giving a direct answer to his question seeking details of payments made—specifically, which artist was paid, for which event, and how much. No explanation was provided regarding the utilisation of the remaining Rs 22 crore-plus amount after payments to artists and vendors. It remains unclear as to which activities this substantial sum was spent on.
In this regard, Tewari has demanded a comprehensive and detailed account of the entire expenditure from the Tourism Sub-Committee of the Chandigarh Administration’s Advisory Committee. He also called for an investigation into whether any such tourism activities were actually conducted in Chandigarh that could justify such massive expenditure. Emphasising accountability, Tewari stated that this is public money and its utilisation must be transparent.
It is noteworthy that Tewari had raised a question in the Lok Sabha regarding expenditure on tourism-related activities in Chandigarh and their audit. In response, Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat clarified that the Central Government does not directly allocate any budget to the Chandigarh Administration’s Tourism Department. However, financial assistance is provided for organising fairs and festivals. Under this head, a budget of Rs 33.26 crore was earmarked over a three-year period. The Minister further stated that all such expenditures are regularly audited by the Central Audit Office under the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
