By Bhamy V. Shenoy
“My wife and I visited Bengaluru for lunch with Dr. Vijay Kelkar, who has served as both the Petroleum Secretary and Finance Secretary, and is also considered the Father of GST. We discussed various topics. When I asked him if he knew about INTACH and explained why I was asking, he told me that INTACH had reached out to him because they were in deep financial trouble. After reviewing their work, he recommended Rs. 100 crore in aid to the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. To his pleasant surprise, Chidambaram included the recommendation in the budget and it was approved. Meanwhile, in our city, we are quibbling over a fully deserved Rs. 63.80 lakh just because a tender was not called. You know the real reason.”
