A document purported to be an official reply to an application submitted under the Right To Information Act by a Dehradun resident has fuelled uncertainty and concern in the community regarding the functioning of the State Government and expenditure on the same in the name of reconstruction and publicity of the Char Dham shrines and other pilgrimage centres in the State.
According to the document spread through the social media in the past couple of days, Dehradun resident Harendra Rawat had sought information on various aspects from the public information officer of the Rudraprayag district administration under the RTI Act. Indresh Maikhuri of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-leninist) citing the purported RTI reply in the social media said that according to the information provided by officials, as part of the reconstruction effort in Kedarnath, Kailash Kher, had been paid about Rs 3.66 crore for making documentary/serial/advertisement based on Kedarnath till now by the State. Maikhuri states, "There are also unconfirmed reports about Kher being paid about Rs 10 crore for the programme held in Kedarnath while the disaster affected families in the Kedar valley and other disaster affected areas are still awaiting proper resettlement and rehabilitation, about three years after the disaster," said Maikhuri.