In 9 months, Chandigarh MC spends ₹2.7 crore on hiring cabs for officers
Chandigarh municipal corporation, which is witnessing an acute financial crisis, has also not floated any new tender for new developmental work projects
In a decision of questionable financial and economic viability, Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) has been paying ₹30 lakh a month to private cab operators for the intracity travel of officers, such as sub-divisional engineers (SDEs), executive engineers (XENs) and other officials.
MC’s contract with a private cab firm involves the availability of 30 cars to the civic body, while its vehicles remain defunct. This practice, which began in December 2023, has already drained ₹2.7 crore from the MC’s coffers over the past nine months.
On this, mayor Kuldeep Dhalor has sought a report from the officer concerned. He said, “I have already sought a report from the officer concerned as it is a huge financial burden. Once, I get the report, I will take up the matter with the UT administration as with the amount, which we have already spent, we could have bought our vehicles, he said.
On the other hand, MC, which is witnessing an acute financial crisis, has not floated any new tender for new developmental work projects. The civic body is only able to pay monthly liability, including salaries and funds required for water supply, and sewerage management, which run up to ₹60 crore per month.
Following the directives of the union government, the MC has phased out all government vehicles older than 15 years, including polluting cars and buses. In January last year, the Union ministry of road transport and highways issued a notification stating that all government vehicles, including buses of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking and vehicles attached to the MC, which had completed 15 years, would be scrapped from April 1, 2023.
The notification also stated that, in case any department requires additional vehicles beyond the existing fleet, they may consider hiring vehicles from the GeM portal by following the provisions of GFR 2017. The notification also states that if the department believes that hiring vehicles will not meet its requirements and the purchase of vehicles is necessary for operational services, the proposal should be sent to the UT finance department with full justification, including financial implications and information regarding the availability of drivers, budget, etc.
As per the norm, officers can travel 80km per day within the city, and each cab costs around ₹1 lakh per month. A senior officer of the civic body admitted, “We are incurring a huge expense on hiring cabs, but we cannot do anything as we are following the Centre’s instructions.”