SHILLONG, March 24 (PTI): Facing flak for clearing "fake" travelling allowance (TA) bills of MLAs amounting to crores of rupees, the Meghalaya Assembly Secretariat today defended the decision saying the claims were made under "permissible rates" and slammed the CAG for "not taking into consideration facts".
"The claims of taxi fares were made as per the permissible rate and advice obtained from the Finance Department. The TA bills of all the members were examined by the Finance Department," Assembly Secretariat Secretary WM Rymbai said.
The Comptroller and Auditor General in its report had alleged that 16 Meghalaya legislators faked travelling allowance bills and claimed Rs 1.67 crore during one of their trips to London, Paris, Amsterdam and Rome in 2006.
Each member of the delegation claimed Rs 5.
