High court questions govt ad spend

MUMBAI: The Union government spent over Rs229 crore on advertisements between April 2006 and September 2007 and more than Rs150 crore in 2005 and 2006.

The directorate of advertising and visual publicity told this to the Bombay high court in response to a PIL questioning the use of public money for government advertising.

The high court imposed costs of Rs5,000 each on the state and central governments on Wednesday for failing to file comprehensive affidavits in the matter despite repeated court orders.

Justices Swatanter Kumar and JP Devadhar have now asked the state and Centre to segregate the money spent on ads aimed at public welfare and necessary to publicise government policies, from the amount spent on ads meant for personal projections of ministers and executive functionaries.

“Public money spent on personal projections and on congratulations for cricket match wins will have to be explained by the government,” CJ Kumar said.

Petitioner Bhagwanji Rayani submitted in court a bunch of advertisements carrying photographs of ministers published in local dailies.

Noting that the petition had been pending since 2004, the judges said this was the last opportunity for the governments to file affidavits with a ministry-wise break-up of expenditure within two weeks. Failure to comply with the order would compel the court to summon the secretaries concerned, the judges warned.

m_anshika@dnaindia.net