CHANDIGARH: While Punjab is reeling under a financial crisis, the state transport department has floated a Rs 18-crore proposal to buy luxury Toyota Fortuner SUVs Toyota Fortuner for ministers and Toyota Innova Crysta MUVs for MLAs. However, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the state government is not considering making any such purchase.
Sources said that within a little over a month of the formation of the AAP government, the state transport department has demanded Rs 18 crore from the state finance department to buy SUVs for ministers and legislators. Besides buying Toyota Fortuner for ministers, it is also proposed to buy Toyota Innova Crysta for a few MLAs. At present, there are ten ministers in the state cabinet.
It is learned that as of now only two cabinet ministers --Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Punjab Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Dr Baljit Kaur -- are having Toyota Fortuner vehicles, while all the other ministers have been allotted Toyota Innova Crysta vehicles --- 2016 to 2021 models -- by the state transport department.
"As the ministers were allotted Innovas and they demanded new Fortuner vehicles and as a few MLAs also demanded new Innovas, the transport department moved a file to the finance department to buy these luxury vehicles and has demanded Rs 18 crore for the same. And if all goes as per plan, the money will be released by the finance department soon,’’ said an official.
Sources said that it is estimated that the state government will have to spend around Rs 40 to Rs 45 lakh to buy a Toyota Fortuner (SUVs) for a minister and around Rs 25 lakh to buy Toyota Innova Crysta (MUVs) for an MLA as the top models of the vehicles will only be purchased if the plan goes through.
During the reign of the previous Congress regime in the state, most of the cabinet ministers had retained their own luxury vehicles which they used officially and claimed Rs 18 per kilometre from the government and they were also reimbursed the salary of their driver by the government.
As mentioned earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ruled out any possibility of the state government purchasing any new vehicles for the Ministers. He said that the opposition is baselessly spreading canards for want of any issue against the Government.