Skip to main content

Punjab to spend Rs617m on 79 new luxury vehicles for VVIPs

LAHORE: The Punjab government has plans to purchase 79 new luxury vehicles for provincial ministers, parliamentary secretaries as well as escorts for provincial ministers’ security and VVIP protocol duties. It will cost the government Rs612.475m.

The foreign affairs ministry had requested the Punjab government to provide it with 15 VVIP vehicles, including bulletproof cars, for deployment with the 12 prime ministers coming to attend the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) scheduled to start on Oct 15 in Islamabad.

After this, the additional chief secretary (ACS) of Punjab briefed the Standing Committee of Cabinet on Finance & Development about the need for the vehicles with a plan to strengthen the Services and General Administration Department’s (S&GAD) transport pool with luxury vehicles.

The senior officials in the S&GAD say that every new government, including the caretaker government, in the province had purchased luxury vehicles for provincial ministers, parliamentary secretaries, judges and other senior functionaries and after the incumbent government’s approval, the finance department might release the funds along with permission for advance withdrawal of Rs612.475 million.

The ACS explained to the Standing Committee of Cabinet on Finance & Development that the Punjab government had recently appointed 29 parliamentary secretaries and assigned them departments under section 3 of the Parliamentary Secretaries (Salary, Allowances and Privileges) Ordinance, 2002 (LXXI of 2002) vide a notification issued on Aug 29.

The Ordinance entitles each parliamentary secretary to use one official car both for official and private purposes.

Vehicles to be used for ministers, bureaucrats and foreign dignitaries coming for SCO

The ACS apprised the committee that the government, in August, had appointed 29 parliamentary secretaries and the S&GAD was looking for luxury vehicles to provide to the parliamentary secretary.

So far, the transport wing has accommodated 20 parliamentary secretaries with as many vehicles from the transport pool of the S&GAD. The ACS stated that the government needed to purchase nine more new official vehicles for deployment with the remaining parliamentary secretaries.

He also stated that 20 more vehicles were also needed as reserve, envisaging an expansion in the provincial cabinet as well as parliamentary secretaries in the future.

Considering the prevailing law and order situation in the province, the government requested for 30 new Toyota Hilux single cabin 4x2 (with special fiber hood installed on the rear) also required to escort provincial ministers.

Furthermore, the meeting was told that the 23rd gathering of the council of heads of government (prime ministers) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was scheduled to be held in Islamabad on 15-16 Oct. At the SCO, the Pakistan government is expecting 12 heads of government to attend the meeting.

The committee was told that the foreign affairs ministry had requested the Punjab government to provide 15 bulletproof/non-bullet proof VVIP vehicles (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota Land Cruiser & Fortuner etc) for the SCO meeting during the first three weeks of October.

“Presently, the S&GAD is facing shortage of vehicles and SUVs for protocol duties as well as deployment with VVIPs, especially during SCO meeting at Islamabad. For this purpose, two Toyota Fortuners and 15 Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6 vehicles might also be purchased,” the ACS told the standing committee and added that in total 76 new vehicles were required to be procured in the transport pool of the S&GAD from authorised dealers of Indus Motor Company Ltd as per quotations at the total cost of Rs612.475 million.

The cost includes Rs220.139 million to purchase 29 Toyota Corolla Altis X Grande 1.8 CVT-I for parliamentary secretaries at the cost of Rs7.591 million each. For the purchase of 15 Toyota Corolla Altis X 1.6 CVT cars, the S&GAD requires Rs99.615 million at the cost of Rs6.641 million per car for its transport pool to be used for protocol duties.

In order to perform protocol duties at SCO Summit, the government’s transport pool requires to purchase two Toyota Fortuner 4x4 Sigma 2.8l T-Diesel at the cost of Rs18.093 million each. Both vehicles will cost Rs36.186 million.

In order to escort the ministers, the government requires 30 Toyota Hilux 4x2 Single Cabin Pickup STD Model at a total cost of Rs209.04 million – Rs6.968 million each.

The government has also calculated the cost of installation of fibre hood on the rear side of 30 single cabin Toyota Hilux vehicles. The total cost of vehicles also includes Rs17.495 million rates and taxes of all 76 vehicles.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2024



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/5Qa7yXx
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Republican primary race for president in 2024

The Republican primary race for president in 2024 is already shaping up to be a competitive one. There are a number of high-profile candidates who have already announced their intention to run, and more are expected to join the field in the coming months. The frontrunner for the nomination is former President Donald Trump. Trump has been teasing a 2024 run for months, and he has a large and loyal following among Republican voters. However, he is also a polarizing figure, and his candidacy could alienate some moderate Republicans. Another potential contender for the nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has been praised by many conservatives for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his opposition to vaccine mandates. He is also seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott. Pence is a more traditional Republican who could appeal to moderate vote...
1 comment
Read more

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Taylor Swift cheers on Travis Kelce at Kansas City Chiefs game as ‘Eras Tour’ movie opens in theaters.

  Taylor Swift took a break from promoting her new movie "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" to cheer on Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs at their game against the Denver Broncos on October 12, 2023. Swift was seen in a luxury suite with Kelce's mom, Donna Kelce, wearing a red Chiefs jacket. This was Swift's third Chiefs game of the season, and she has been seen cheering on Kelce from the sidelines on several occasions. The two have been rumored to be dating since early 2023, and they have been spotted together at a number of events. The Chiefs won the game against the Broncos 19-8, and Swift was seen celebrating with Kelce and his teammates after the game. She also took some time to meet with some of the Chiefs fans who were waiting outside the stadium. It is clear that Swift is a big supporter of Kelce and the Chiefs, and her presence at the game was sure to thrill fans of both. It is also interesting to note that she took time away from promoting her new movie to ...
Post a Comment
Read more