Sindh govt out of funds to pay for registration of ambulance

Toyota Hiace purchased in October last year for emergency use in Sindh Secretariat

The Sindh government spent over Rs2 billion on the purchase of new vehicles for different departments during the current financial year, but it does not have Rs161,000 required for the registration of an ambulance purchased to be used in case of emergency in the Sindh Secretariat.

The service and general administrations department has written a letter to the treasury department to arrange for the amount. A Toyota Hiace van was purchased in October last year for use as an ambulance, but even after five months it has not been registered due to the unavailability of Rs161,000.

The service and general administration department sent a letter on April 5 to the treasury department requesting to arrange the required amount.



According to the letter, one unit of a Toyota Hiace was purchased to be used as an ambulance in case of emergencies in the Sindh Secretariat. The excise and taxation department demanded Rs161,000 for the registration of the vehicle, but "we do not have the amount available because we have spent all the funds therefore [it is requested] that the amount be arranged in the current financial year's budget," the letter read.

During the financial year 2017-18, the Sindh government has spent over Rs2 billion on the purchase of vehicles and in the current financial year's budget, Rs2.17 billion was allocated for the purchase of vehicles for the police department and Rangers only. Additional funds worth millions were kept for other departments. During financial year 2016-17, over Rs80 million were spent on the purchase of new vehicles for social welfare.