Telangana buys 32 new costly cars for officers, opposition slams CM KCR for splurge of public money

Hyderabad, June 14: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao distributed 32 brand new cars ach valued at around Rs 30 lakh, to for Additional Collectors. However, the state government came under Opposition's fire for purchasing a fleet of luxury cars for IAS officers in the state amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

These cars were bought to facilitate the visit of the Additional Collectors to villages, the government said.

This at a time when the state is reeling under a debt of around ₹ 40,000 crore, besides battling the debilitating Covid pandemic, opposition leaders have alleged.

The Chief Minister's generosity is learnt to be his way to raise motivation among officials to work hard to ensure all-round development of villages and towns, which leave much to be desired.

Rao commented in the meeting that a lot needs to be done, though the Additional Collectors' contribution was not lost on him.

Criticising the move, the BJP has called the move "criminal splurge" by Chief Minister Rao to "appease bureaucrats" in the state.

"How can Chief Minister Rao justify spending over 11 crores to buy 32 ultra-luxury vehicles?" party spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao asked.

Telangana Congress Spokesperson Sravan Dasoju also called the Telangana government's move a "height of irresponsible expenditure". "The TRS government led by KCR is completely irresponsible in handling public money. As such KCR has pushed the surplus state of Telangana into a debt trap with a whopping debt of about ₹4 lakh crores," claimed the Congress leader.