Early Times Report
Srinagar, Mar 21: Some of the Kashmiri politicians who were jailed in the wake of the abrogation of the special status on August 5, 2019, had been living a “luxurious life” at the plush Centaur Lake View Hotel here costing the government a whopping around Rs four crores for the first three months alone.
Official documents as accessed by the Early Times reveal that even for the first three months of detention of the 40 odd politicians at the hotel, the bill as released by the hotel totals to Rs 3,90,39,220, including
lodging charges of Rs 2,76,18, 633.
Interestingly, this excludes the expenditure on the detention of the three former Chief Ministers including Dr Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba. While Farooq was jailed at this residence, Omar was detained at the Harinivas Palace while Mehbooba was kept at a separate government accommodation.
Documents reveal that the detained politicians were given the “first class accommodation.” As per official records, Rs 5,720 plus GST is the amount charged on double room by the hotel per day, while Rs 7,920 plus GST was charged by the hotel on suites per day with 20 percent discount on actual cost.
The hotel during this period provided 6,786 high end meals to the politicians, which included their breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening tea, for which it charged Rs 1350 each day plus GST and provided twenty percent concession on actual amount it usually charges, the official documents show.
Sources said the government till now has paid only Rs five lakh towards the hotel and that rest of the amount was being “negotiated.”
As per official sources, the politicians and security personnel assigned the job of their security had night stays in the hotel’s double rooms and suites.
Sources said each such room was equipped with “lavish facilities like ACs and heating system, apart from LED TV sets, 24×7 hot and cold water and regular housekeeping services.
Unlike routine jails, the detained politicians had even not to wash their clothes as the hotel offered even the laundry facilities.
After three months of stay at the hotel on the banks of Dal lake, while many of them were released, others who are still under detention have been kept at the MLA Hostel on the MA Road here.
Talking to the Early Times on the condition of anonimity, a senior official admitted that the detained politicians were provided “due comfort.”
“It was never a routine jail for them,” the official quipped. |
