Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The issue of purchasing new cars for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) officers has once again become a hot topic of discussion after deputy commissioner Nanda Gaikwad’s car got burnt into ashes two days ago. The civic administration is now gearing up to buy new electric cars for the officers.
The CSMC’s mechanical section has 25 cars and 15 jeeps on record. Few of the cars have got quite old. As a result, the civic administration has decided to dispose of the 36 vehicles in the scrap. Presently, many officers are using private vehicles and collecting monthly allowance from the civic administration.
Earlier, the civic administration attempted to buy vehicles for its officers on two occasions but was forced to set them aside following the strong opposition from political office-bearers.
Once the municipal corporation decided to buy 27 cars for 27 officers, but the political office-bearers object saying that the civic body is reeling under the financial crunch. Later on, the CSMC again decided to buy 13 cars (nine for its ward officers and four for its heads of departments). The cars were proposed to buy from the mechanical section’s depreciation fund of Rs 50 lakh and the municipal corporation fund. The proposal again got shelved. It may be noted that the CSMC has made a provision of Rs 14 crore in the current annual budget to buy various vehicles for the mechanical section. Some funds will be utilised to buy the cars, said the sources.
Earlier, the municipal corporation had purchased seven electric cars from the Finance Commission fund. Now, the administration is gearing up to purchase electric cars soon.