Sumit Kumar Singh By

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his six-member cabinet have spent over Rs 1 crore on tea and snacks for their guests in the past 18 months. And the taxpayer is picking up the tab. Kejriwal has racked up the fattest bill with Rs 47.29 lakh. He spent Rs 22,42,320 at his secretariat office and Rs 24,86,921 at his residence camp office, according to the reply by Kishan Lal, Deputy Secretary at the General Administration Department to an RTI query filed by Vivek Garg, seeking details of expenditure incurred on tea and snacks, including samosas, by the ministers of the Delhi state.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia came second; he spent Rs 11,28,429. His residence office had a bill of Rs 5,66,304 and his secretariat office Rs 5,62,125. Gopal Rai, who as removed as transport minister

After allegation of corruption in premium bus scheme, spent a few thousands less than Sisodia at Rs 11,06,272: Rs 5,44,856 at secretariat and Rs 5,61,416 at residential office.

Sandeep Kumar, who was sacked this week from the post of social welfare minister and suspended from the party membership on Saturday after his sex tapes appeared in public, fed his guests at an expense of Rs 9,11,179 lakh: Rs 4,97,346 in the secretariat and Rs 4,13,833 in residential office. Heath minister Satyendra Jain came very close to Kumar. He shelled out Rs 9,10,311. His camp office bill was Rs 3,57,303 and Rs 5,53,008 was the expenditure incurred on a pilot vehicle in last 18 months.

Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra spent less at his residence office compared to other cabinet ministers. The expenditure on snacks and tea was Rs 36,232 at his residence but Rs 5,93,858 was splurged at the secretariat, which is just below the amount Kejriwal spent. In total, he spent Rs 6,30,090.

Least amount (Rs 5,89,121) was spent by Minister of Food and Civil Supply Imran Hussain. The snacks bill at his residence and office was Rs 1,67,933 and Rs 4,21,188.

The expenditure incurred on petrol and maintenance of vehicles attached to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the past 18 months was Rs 3.3 lakh. Interestingly, Rs 3.9 lakh was spent on a pilot vehicle.