PESHAWAR: The cash-starved Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has allowed the district governments to purchase about 400 vehicles for official use, violating its own austerity measures approved by the provincial cabinet.

Details shared with Dawn show that local government and rural development department has approved a summary to allow district governments across the province to purchase vehicles for officials use.

The economic and austerity measures for the financial year 2017-18 are part of the current budget, which was also approved by the provincial cabinet before its notification by the provincial finance department, according to official documents.

“The provincial cabinet in its meeting held on June 7, 2017 while considering the budget estimates 2017-18, approved the following guiding principles to curtail the expenditures, to be effective from July 1, 2017,” reads the notification issued by the finance department.

Permission seems violation of austerity measures approved by provincial cabinet

Besides mentioning other austerity measures, the two-page notification says: “There shall be complete ban on purchase of new vehicles.”

However, the department has allowed the district governments concerned to purchase 77 cars of 1,300CC for tehsil nazims, 77 cars of 1,000CC for secretaries of tehsil councils, 30 cars of 1,300CC and 20 Toyota Hilux 4x4 (2,500CC) for the district nazims and naib nazims.

Similarly, the department has allowed purchase of 77 cars of 1,000CC for secretaries of tehsil councils and tehsil municipal officers, 35 cars of 1,000CC for the secretaries of district councils and assistant director of local government and rural development department, 25 Pickup vehicles single cabin 4x2, six cars of 1,000CC for deputy directors of local government and four cars of 1,300CC for directors of Local Government Commission.

The local government department has also approved purchase of 110 vehicles for the additional assistant commissioners, posted in all districts of the province.

The department has also issued instructions to the district governments regarding purchases of new vehicles and the old ones, which are in use so far.

“The existing old/unserviceable vehicles shall be surrendered to the administration department for auction according to rules and sale proceeds from auction shall be deposited into the government treasury through challan,” says the notification of local government and rural development department, issued in April.

It states that there shall be no duplication of purchases and only those district governments and TMAs shall make procurement of new vehicles where the presently serviceable vehicle doesn’t exist.

According to the instructions issued by the department, the new proposed purchase of vehicles shall be in accordance with the entitlement of office bearers/officers of local government, which is authorised by the transport committee of the administration department.

Sources told Dawn that the department had only approved purchase of vehicles while the district governments would purchase the same from their own resources.

Minister for LG&RD Inayatullah Khan, when contacted, said that purchase of new vehicles was allowed on the special permission of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.

He said that as the local government system was new, so many office-bearers and officials had no official vehicles and it was necessary to buy vehicles for them.

The minister said that assistant directors and engineers in the district were involved in utilisation of billions of rupees funds of district governments. He added that they also visited the project sites for supervision.

“If assistant directors and engineers have no vehicles how they will supervise the execution of development projects,” questioned Mr Khan.

About the austerity measures of the government, he said that provincial finance department would not release funds for purchase of vehicles rather the district governments would purchase the same from their own resources.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2017