The 33 legislators of the Puducherry Assembly have been allocated high-end mobile phones, computers and office accessories as part of a ₹2.5 crore upgradation package implemented once every five years.
Chief Minister N. Rangasamy launched the distribution of the accoutrements to members at his chamber, in the presence of Speaker R. Selvam, Ministers and MLAs.
The items, which included iMac desktop, MacBook laptops, photocopiers, printers, office furniture and a sofa set for visitors, were purchased by the Legislative Assembly Secretariat for the 30 elected and three nominated members of the House, including the Speaker and the Chief Minister. Public Works Minister K. Lakshminarayanan said there was nothing new about the allotment, which is undertaken quinquennially by the Legislative Assembly Secretariat.
“This scheme is being implemented once every five years by the Assembly Secretariat since 2006 as part of the basic office-related grant for all MLAs. Moreover, it has been adopted on the standard procedure of the Parliamentary scheme for its members,” said Mr. Lakshminarayanan. For a quinquennial office upgradation scheme for legislators, the per capita expenditure worked out to only about ₹7 lakh per member, it was pointed out.
