Sweets for employees—a “welfare” measure by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) for its around 14,000 of its workers—during Diwali and Holi cost the civic body a whopping Rs 1.32 crore in 2013-14.
The amount spent in the last fiscal is 20 times the amount spent in earlier years, as it had restricted the gift to only sanitation workers, according to a reply furnished to an RTI query filed by activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal.
During Diwali in 2013, the NDMC distributed sweets worth Rs 30.20 lakh for its sanitation staff and all Group-D and contractual staff, while it spent Rs 91.95 lakh on sweetmeats during Holi this year. This was the first time in the past four years that sweets were distributed during Holi.
Defending its decision, the NDMC said, “This is a welfare measure.
The NDMC has been distributing sweets to safai karamcharis (sanitation workers) on the occasion of Diwali.”
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