Goa advocate general earned Rs.1.86 crore in two years

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Goa's Advocate General Atmaram Nadkarni earned Rs.1.86 crore over the last two years in fees for appearing in various courts in and outside the state, the state assembly was told on Saturday.

The fees are exclusive of salaries to the advocate general's staff which amounts to Rs.77.96 lakh in the same period, Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza, who holds the law portfolio too, said in a written reply.

In 2013-14, Nadkarni was paid Rs.68.65 lakh and Rs.18.90 lakh towards fees and other expenses for appearances before the Panaji Bench of the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court respectively, and in 2014-15, was paid Rs.99.35 lakh, Rs.11.47 lakh and Rs.18.90 lakh for appearances before the high court bench, Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal respectively.

The remuneration paid to Nadkarni has been classified as honorarium and in some cases, professional fees.

The office of the Goa advocate general has been in the news in the recent past after RTI queries by lawyer-activist Aires Rodrigues revealed that the state's top law officer was the highest-paid government official in the country with a remuneration of at least Rs.8 lakh a month, more than that earned by the president and chief justice of India.

In the previous Congress-led coalition government, advocate general Subodh Kantak earned Rs. 5.13 crore between February 2005 to May 2011.