Nearly Rs 25 crore was spent on organising 'Mahasangosthi', a conference of religious leaders during 'Simhastha Kumbh Parva' in Ujjain earlier this year.
According to documents received by social activist Ajay Dubey in response to an RTI query filed by him, a total of Rs 24.59 crore was spent on organising the event in April and May this year. Rs 1.93 crore was spent on food, Rs 1.71 crore for providing accomodation and Rs 1.01 crore on vehicles, among others, it said.
Besides, an expenditure of Rs 14.80 lakh was incurred on travelling, and Rs one lakh on stationery, the RTI reply from the culture department said. Rs 50 lakh was given to the Indian Railway, it said, giving details of expenses.
One of the events--"Vaicharik Mahakumbh" was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Simhastha, one of the four Kumbh Melas, said to be the largest religious congregation in the world, was held at Ujjain between April and May this year.
"The state government has spent such a huge amount unnecessarily. There may be corruption behind spending about Rs two crore on food and lakhs of rupees on other things. I will soon approach Lokayukta seeking a fair probe in the case," Dubey said.
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