Petrol and diesel expenditure figures related to the years 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Jagran correspondent, Chandigarh. Senior IAS officers posted in Chandigarh spent nearly Rs 30 lakh on petrol for their official vehicles in the last two years. In most of the months, the petrol bill of the car of the then Finance Secretary was the highest.
The fuel expenditure of the Chief Secretary's staff car was sometimes found to be almost double that of his own car. This information has been received under Right to Information (RTI).
Through RTI, details of fuel expenditure of vehicles of Chief Secretary, Secretary and Principal Secretary level officers who report directly to the Chief Secretary were sought. These figures relate to the years 2022-23 and 2023-24. Overall, an expenditure of about Rs 29 lakh has been incurred in 24 months. A similar pattern is visible in the monthly data.
In April 2022, a total of Rs 1.55 lakh fuel was spent on the vehicles of about 10 senior IAS officers. In this, the highest bill for the Finance Secretary's car was around Rs 21 thousand, in which consumption of more than 200 liters of petrol was recorded.
The expenditure of Home Secretary and Special Secretary (Personnel) was approximately Rs 18 thousand and Rs 15 thousand respectively. In contrast, the Chief Secretary's own car cost less than Rs 4,000, while his staff car cost more than Rs 7,500.
The situation remained the same in May 2022 also. The cost of the Chief Secretary's car was less than Rs 4,000, while the bill for his staff car was more than Rs 9,000. The expenditure of the Finance Secretary was again the highest – about Rs 20 thousand, and that of the Home Secretary was about Rs 12 thousand.
The total fuel cost of senior officials in June 2022 stood at Rs 1.41 lakh. About 14 thousand rupees were spent on the vehicle of the Finance Secretary and about 13 thousand rupees were spent on the vehicle of the Home Secretary. The cost of the Chief Secretary's car was around Rs 4,300, while the cost of the staff car was more than Rs 7,500.
This trend continued throughout the year. In August and November 2022, the monthly bill for the Finance Secretary's car was again around Rs 19 to 20 thousand, in which consumption of about 200 liters of petrol was shown. Even during these months, the cost of the Chief Secretary's car was less than Rs 4 thousand and the cost of the staff car was almost double.
The total monthly expenditure reached more than Rs 1.27 lakh in January 2023. In this, the share of the Finance Secretary's car alone was about Rs 20 thousand. The cost of the Chief Secretary's car was again less than Rs 4 thousand, while the cost of the staff car was more than Rs 7 thousand.
The total monthly expenditure in April 2023 was recorded at Rs 1.22 lakh. The Finance Secretary's bill was the highest at more than Rs 17 thousand, while the cost of the Chief Secretary's vehicle was less than Rs 3 thousand. The total fuel expenditure increased to Rs 1.36 lakh in August 2023, of which the bill for the Finance Secretary's car was again more than Rs 22 thousand.