Punjab govt. invites tenders to buy cars for MLAs

Chandigarh, After failing to buy cars for ministers and MLAs last year due to paucity of funds, the cash-starved state has started the process of buying 113 luxury cars by calling tenders. The cars would cost Rs 18 crore to the state exchequer.

The deal would be finalised only when the Ministry of Finance clears the budget. Finance Minister Parminder Dhindsa said the proposal to buy cars for ministers and chief parliamentary secretaries had not reached him so far. “I have cleared the proposal for buying Toyota Innova vehicles for MLAs (who are not ministers or chief parliamentary secretaries). Most of the beneficiary MLAs are from the Congress. They have been demanding new cars for some time, although in public they accuse government of overspending.”

The state Transport Commission is the nodal agency for buying the cars. It has called tenders from dealers of Toyota Kirloskar Motors as the government plans to buy 78 Toyota Innova, 17 Toyota Camry W5 and 18 Toyota Corolla Altis. Interestingly, sources in the Transport Commission said the dealers from outside Punjab might be preferred as the government would not have to pay VAT to them.

Mahesh Garg, Joint State Transport Commissioner, said only the tenders had been called. “After finalising the best deal, we will send a proposal to the Finance Ministry for clearance.”

The issue has cropped up several times in the past. The ruling and the opposition MLAs are united on the matter. A number of Congress MLAs have alleged that the government was not replacing their vehicles despite their poor condition.

The government had last year faced flak when it started the process to buy new cars. Salaries of several categories of employees have been delayed in the recent past. Even deputy commissioners in a recent meeting aired concerns over shortage of funds. The government has not even reimbursed fuel bills incurred by MLAs since February, sources claimed.

Luxury amid crunch

* The cars would cost the state exchequer ~18 crore

* The Transport Commissioner has invited tender from Toyota dealers

* The government plans to buy 78 Innova, 17 Camry W5 and 18 Corolla Altis

* Even the Opposition Congress MLAs would benefit from the scheme.