April 13, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 6, 1429

LAHORE, April 12: The new Punjab government has decided to reduce the size of chief minister’s fleet of vehicles, using extra ones for official purposes or auctioning them.

It has also started preparing lists of official vehicles given to the officers in the Civil Secretariat without or over and above their entitlement.

Official sources on Saturday claimed that the number of vehicles at the chief minister's secretariat was nearly 100 to 150 and said these were even given to deputy secretaries and section officers by the previous government.

The fleet of vehicles included luxury bulletproof cars and jeeps used by the chief minister and his security staff. The senior and protocol staff enjoyed high-powered vehicles.

Even the deputy secretaries and the section officers selected for the chief minister's secretariat were given cars, they claimed.

They said the new chief minister was likely to have only 10 vehicles and the staff would be allowed vehicles strictly according to their entitlement.

Meanwhile, it was stated that the authorities concerned had also started preparing lists of the vehicles given to the secretariat officers.

They said it was found that here too the deputy secretaries and section officers were allowed official cars without any justification.

They said the authorities were checking the rules to make a uniform policy for the usage of official cars by officers.

“So far as we know cars can be used only by secretaries and additional secretaries. The ones given to the deputy secretaries and other junior officers may be withdrawn,” an official said.