- AThe members resolved three years ago, by a large majority, that the smoke-house should be built
- BThe work still to be done will cost about 4 lakh, and the smoke-house once working will save the society some 11 lakh a year that it now pays an outside processor to smoke its sheet
- CAbandoning the work now would oblige the managing committee to admit that its earlier decision was mistaken
- DThe 31 lakh already spent is more than the society has laid out on any other work in its history
Step-by-Step Solution
The treasurer is right that the 31 lakh cannot argue for either course, so a reason to finish must come entirely from what is still ahead: 4 lakh to be spent against 11 lakh a year to be saved, which pays for itself inside five months. That is a reason of the only kind left standing. The three-year-old resolution and the size of the 31 lakh both point backwards to what has been done and decided, which is exactly what the treasurer's objection puts out of court. Sparing the committee an admission is a reason for the committee and not for the society, and it would argue for finishing even a smoke-house that could never earn a rupee.
Answer: B) The work still to be done will cost about 4 lakh, and the smoke-house once working will save the society some 11 lakh a year that it now pays an outside processor to smoke its sheet