Rs.1 crore of Rs.100 crore? Printer's devil embarrasses Maharashtra government

An innocuous government e-tender advertisement caused a major embarrassment to the Maharashtra government Friday as a printer's devil raised the cost of supplying foodstuff to the residences of the chief minister and the deputy chief minister from Rs.1 crore to a whopping Rs.100 crore!

The advertisement -- in Marathi and English -- was for inviting e-tenders to supply foodstuff worth Rs.1 crore per annum for the official residences, 'Varsha' of the Maharashtra chief Minister, and 'Devgiri' of the deputy chief minister, for 2013-2014.

A printer's devil crept in and one of the advertisements, issued this week by the General Administration Department (GAD) in an English newspaper, pegged the figure at a staggering Rs.100 crore.

BJP's Leader of Opposition in the assembly Eknath Khadse immediately pounced on the government and accused it of "feasting" at public expense.

"By spending such a huge amount on foodstuff at the official residences, the government is feasting when the state is in the grip of a severe drought and people do not have water to drink," Khadse alleged.

Embarrassed state government officials issued an official clarification and blamed the mistake on a "printer's devil".

In a statement, it is said the government advertisement clearly mentioned the figure as "Rs.1.00 crore".

"The figure of Rs.1.00 crore has been correctly printed in several English and Marathi newspapers. Only one Mumbai eveninger published the incorrect figure of 'Rs.100 crore'," the statement said.