Vadodara: Questions have been raised over the Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s (VMC) spending after it emerged that the civic body spent Rs 1.45 lakh on bottled drinking water for meetings at its headquarters, Khanderao Market, in a year.The details, accessed through a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by former councillor Ashish Joshi, also revealed an additional expenditure of Rs 51,728 on crockery for serving refreshments during meetings.Joshi, who was suspended from the BJP, sought information on expenses incurred by the civic body’s public relations office (PRO) department, which manages events, programmes, and meeting arrangements.According to the records, in the financial year 2024–25, the department spent Rs 1.45 lakh on packaged drinking water for meetings held in the VMC conference hall, typically used by administrative and engineering officials. A VMC official said the amount was spent on Rs 5 bottled water units.Based on the expenditure, it is estimated that over 29,000 bottles were consumed during meetings, averaging more than 100 bottles a day — raising concerns about reliance on packaged water by a civic body responsible for supplying potable water to the city.The civic body also procured crockery worth Rs 51,728 for serving tea, coffee, and snacks during meetings.However, a VMC official clarified that while the expenses are recorded under conference hall meetings, the supplies may have been used at other offices and venues as well.Joshi said he began probing the expenses after noticing discrepancies in bills related to an event last year. “I found that the rent of a generator for the event was higher than its cost, and some other expenses were unusually high. When I was not given any explanation, I decided to seek more details,” he said.He further alleged that the list of questionable expenses was extensive. According to him, the VMC spent Rs 1.29 crore on photography, including drone shoots of the Vishwamitri river for flood mitigation work. “Part of this work was outside the city and fell under the irrigation department’s purview, yet the VMC bore the cost,” he said. He also pointed to a tent house bill of Rs 41.54 lakh for the same project.
