The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had spent more money on transporting the household goods of its former Governor Raghuram Rajan than his salary, reported The Sunday Guardian in a recent report. The surprising figures were received in response to the Right to Information (RTI) query filed by the said newspaper. The former RBI Governor was paid an approximate salary of ₹1.69 lakhs per month during his tenure between August 2013 and September 2016.
Chicago to Mumbai and back
Reportedly, Rajan cost the RBI ₹61.2 lacs in salaries and a whopping ₹71 lakhs in the transportation of his household goods from Chicago in Illinois to Mumbai in Maharashtra and back. While an expenditure of ₹2,226,416 was incurred on shifting his stuff from Chicago to Mumbai alone, another ₹4,941,253 was incurred on transporting his goods back to the US from India. There is no specific rule that determines how the household goods of the Governor be transported to India from other parts of the world. As such, the RBI made the conscious decision specifically in Rajan’s case, after taking into account the circumstances.
Raghuram Rajan received paintings worth ₹50,000
As per the RTI query mentioned in the Sunday Guardian report, the ex-RBI Governor was presented with five paintings at the time of his farewell. Rules suggest that every Governor vacating his office is entitled to gifts worth up to ₹50,000. While Raghuram Rajan did not make any specific demand, he had indicated that 4 paintings by Govind Dumbre of 15 X 15 size and one by Gopal Adiverkar which measured 16 X 20 in dimensions, present in the Governor’s House, be gifted to him instead of corporate gifts. Even though the RBI quoted the price of each painting as ₹10,000, yet it was found that Dumbre’s paintings were being sold for upwards of ₹1 lac. An additional ₹13,474 was spent on fitting an air conditioner in the bathroom.
