Violation of rules: Govt bought dozens of vehicles for ministers, documents reveal

35 vehicles purchased for federal ministers and parliamentary secretaries at a cost of Rs205 million

ISLAMABAD: In a clear violation of rules and by relaxing the ban on procurements, the federal government has purchased three dozen vehicles for federal ministers and parliamentary secretaries at a cost of Rs205 million.

The government procured the 35 vehicles even as cars bought for ministers and secretaries under the Pakistan Peoples Party regime rust in the parking lots of the National Assembly and Pak Secretariat – a move clearly at odds with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s much trumpeted austerity policy.

The cost of the 10 Land Cruisers, two 2,500cc Toyota Vigos, 20 1,300cc vehicles and three 2,500cc Toyota double-cabins was met by giving supplementary grants. No allocations had been made in the budget passed by Parliament last June, according to budgetary documents.



Those who received one of these vehicles include Housing and Works Minister Akram Durrani, Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Mohammad Yousaf, Minister of State for Communication Abdul Hakeem Baloch, Minister of State for Religious Affairs Pir Amin Hasnat and Senate Deputy Chairman Maulana Ghafoor Haidri.

Under the rules, federal and state ministers can only use vehicles up to 1,800cc. Flouting the rule, the government purchased two 2,500 cc Toyota Vigos for Hakeem Baloch and Ghafoor Haidri at a cost of Rs7.6 million, according to Supplementary Demands for Grants and Appropriations 2014-15. The three Toyota double-cabins were procured for Akram Durrani, Sardar Yousaf and Pir Hasnat at a price of Rs12 million, according to the budget book.

The federal government also bought ten-armored Land Cruisers for Rs150 million. Despite having dozens of vehicles in its pool, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs bough 20 more 1,300cc cars for parliamentary secretaries, the budget documents show.

The finance ministry sanctioned the budget only after a committee recommended buying these vehicles, a senior ministry official said. According to him, ministers were given above 1,800cc vehicles for security reasons. “Security features are not available in cars within the 1,800cc limit,” he said.

Besides spending Rs205 million on procurement of vehicles, the finance ministry sanctioned a Rs133.9 million budget to meet the cost of repair and maintenance of two VVIP aircraft. The money was sanctioned for Gulfstream G450 and G-IV aircraft, according to the budget documents.

The PML-N government is also lenient on the implementation of the car monetisation policy as almost all the bureaucrats in the basic pay scale of 20 to 22 are not only availing hefty car allowance but also misusing their official vehicles.

The PPP government had introduced Rs68,000 to Rs97,000 monthly car allowance for grade 20-22 bureaucrats on the pretext that they would not avail official cars. However, the facility has resulted into additional burden on the exchequer.

The Finance Ministry also gave Rs10 million to the Prime Minister’s Office for entertainment and gifts.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2015.