SRINAGAR The vehicles issued to the officials of different government departments have been allegedly being used by officials for their personal use.
Sources said that the officials of various departments are using vehicles for private purposes in violation of norms. Also the government had said that they would withdraw the vehicles from officials who are not entitled under the rules, which has however not happened on the ground. This was decided to control and stop the misuse of public resources and to save lakhs of rupees which are being spent on fuel, maintenance and purchase of new vehicles.
Government has to spent lakhs of rupees on the fuel charges annually on the vehicles that are being used by these officials, sources said.
Sources said the issue was brought into the notice of higher authorities several times but no action was taken. Some bureaucrats and politicians are also misusing these official vehicles, they said. Meanwhile sources said that the government also has to bear heavy expenses on hiring the guest houses for officials, who however put their relatives there.
Crores of rupees are being spent annually on the rent of guest houses. But the influential people including officials put their relatives in these guest houses while the government pays their rent, an official at the Civil Secretariat said.
The official said various buildings reserved for high level meetings have been turned into guest houses in Jammu. The government has also pay the salary for the cooks preparing meals for influential people and also on room maintenance of employees, the official said.
Sources said that the government had issued directions to the political leaders asking them to vacate the buildings occupied by them and their party workers.
Sources said the menace started after 1996 when National Conference government was in office and NC workers started occupying the government buildings. Sources said the Administrative departments and Heads of Departments (HODs) were asked in 2016 to come up with proposals for hiring of vehicles instead of making purchases to ensure economy of expenditure.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
