Dear MLAs, no more 'jolly-rides' around the city

Bangalore, Sept 3: Happy days are gone and

and government officials who have been misusing government conveyance will have to think for alternatives now.

They cannot use government cars for family trips outside the state anymore. Assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa has barred MLAs from secretariat cars outside the state. This has come in light of the fact that government officials have been misusing resources at the tax payers' expense.

The reason why the secretariat cars are hot favorites is that these cars are available at lower rentals (RS 9/km) for an Innova and RS 6/Km for a Swift Dezire. Very low as compared to market standards, these are hence very popular among the officials for private use. Moreover, these cars do not need any entry tax to enter other states as they are government vehicles.

This is a welcome relief for officials as enough cars can be made available for official use within the city limits. An official said,"Secretariat cars are meant for legislators, who come from other parts of the state, to travel in and around Bangalore. But supporters of MLAs started hiring these cars. These vehicles started plying to tourist and temple towns like Tirupati, Mantralaya, Shirdi, Ooty and Puducherry."

In fact, it led to a lot of confusion and mismanagement. Officials did not have any clue as to who hired which car or whether it was really an MLA or just a kin pushed through him. "That way, no one would know is something illegal is being carried out or not," said another official.

OneIndia News