Ministers' foreign trips: Govt owes Air India Rs435 crore

Union Cabinet Ministers have accumulated dues of Rs435 crore on the cash-strapped Air India which is 93 per cent of the the total bills incurred by them during their visits abroad, Lok Sabha was informed today.

Responding to a question, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy said during 2009-10 Cabinet Ministers incurred bills of Rs61.10 crore on foreign travel while ministers of state spent Rs3.78 crore.

In 2010-11, Cabinet Ministers spent Rs37.17 crore while Ministers of state spent Rs4.76 crore. In 2011-12, foreign travel bill of Cabinet Ministers was a staggering Rs460.78 crore till December 16, 2011 while for Ministers of State the figure was Rs3.80 crore, he said.

The minister said the figure of Rs460.78 crore "includes pending payments to Air India for previous years amounting to Rs435 crore".

He said Ministry-wise expenditure information is being collected and would soon be tabled in the House adding that the Cabinet Secretariat has issued guidelines from time to time regarding foreign visits by Ministers.