New Delhi, Sep 10 - Dues amounting to nearly Rs.12 million are pending against 10 sitting and former members of the Lok Sabha, a Right to Information (RTI) applicant has found out.
'There are dues outstanding from some former and existing members of Lok Sabha,' the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in its reply to RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal, who had sought information on dues owed to government departments, agencies, and companies by former and sitting parliamentarians.
He had also asked about the steps taken to recover dues, including those taken after concern expressed by Delhi High Court over the issue.
In its reply, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said as per the instructions of Delhi High Court, 'steps have been taken to recover outstanding dues to NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council) and MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) from concerned MPs by way of deducting equitable amount from their salary.'
Of the total amount, nearly Rs.8 million are pending against the late A.B.A Ghani Khan Choudhary. However, recovery was stopped after his death.
Congress MP from Andhra Pradesh Chinta Mohan owes a total of Rs.1.27 million to the NDMC and MTNL, while Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda owes an amount of Rs.