Tehran City Council: Municipality Must Provide Expense Documents for Karbala

The Tehran City Council is awaiting the submission of expense documents from the Tehran Municipality regarding the costs incurred for pilgrims attending this year's Arbaeen ceremony in Iraq. Reza Taghipour, the spokesperson for the Tehran City Council, stated on Tuesday, January 5, that the municipality has not yet sent the necessary documents and 'written reports' that would accurately detail the expenses for services provided to the pilgrims in Karbala. Mr. Taghipour explained that the Tehran governorate returned the council's resolution to allocate 5 billion tomans for services to Karbala pilgrims due to 'editorial errors' and that the final amendment was accepted by the governorate. He added that whenever the execution documents of the new resolution reach the city council, they will review it according to the law, and if 'more than the approved amount has been spent, it will either be opposed or organized within amendments and lines that can be executed.' The spokesperson also mentioned that if the municipality has not coordinated for spending more than before, the council can 'refuse to accept the incurred costs, and this amount will remain as unspent costs in the municipality.' Following the announcement of an unprecedented number of Iranian pilgrims in Karbala this year, many questions have arisen regarding the amount of government spending for sending these pilgrims. Officials from Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization announced weeks ago that a headquarters had been established to provide services and focus on affairs related to the pilgrims, with the Tehran Municipality responsible for urban services and accommodation for pilgrims in Karbala, while the Red Crescent provided medical services. Iranian officials reported the presence of between 1.2 million and 1.5 million Iranian pilgrims at the ceremony in Karbala, while the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced the total number of pilgrims in Karbala to be between 17 to 20 million. Masoud Shushtari, the deputy head of the reconstruction headquarters of 'Atabat Aliyat' in Iraq, stated in December to ISNA news agency that this year about 4 to 5 billion tomans have been donated by Arbaeen pilgrims, and out of the total current expenses, only 300 to 400 million tomans were covered by this headquarters, with many Iranian delegations in Karbala and Najaf providing food for travelers, distributing nearly one million meals among the pilgrims daily. Saeed Ohadi, head of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, also mentioned in an interview on November 9 that they are planning to organize the pilgrims during Arbaeen and that this year pilgrims are exempt from paying insurance and medical service fees.