SRINAGAR, Sep 24: The Jammu and Kashmir Government came under scrutiny in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday over the absence of a uniform policy governing the allotment and use of official vehicles, with Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather seeking a fresh and detailed response from the Government on the issue.
The matter was raised during Question Hour through a starred question by Udhampur East MLA Ranbir Singh Pathania regarding the Government’s official vehicle fleet and expenditure. The Government informed the House that a revised vehicle policy incorporating the principle of “One Vehicle–One Officer” has been drafted but is still under consideration.
According to the Government’s response, the proposed policy provides for exceptions based on security requirements, field duties, additional assignments, operational exigencies and the functional requirements of departments and organisations. The proposed framework is intended to rationalise the Government vehicle fleet and improve the utilisation of available resources.
Pathania questioned why the principle had not yet been implemented when the exercise to formulate a revised vehicle policy dates back to 2021. The Government stated that the General Administration Department had constituted a committee through Government Order No. 321-JK(GAD) of 2021, dated April 9, 2021, to examine and recommend a revised Car/Vehicle Policy. The committee subsequently prepared the Government Vehicle Management Policy, 2026, which has not yet been formally notified.
The discussion therefore brought into focus the delay between the initiation of the policy exercise and its proposed implementation. Pathania also questioned the practice of allotting multiple official vehicles to individual officers, particularly in cases where an officer is holding additional departmental charge. He sought clarification on whether additional responsibilities, by themselves, could justify placing multiple vehicles at the disposal of a single officer.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather intervened during the discussion and sought greater clarity from the Government regarding the rationale behind such arrangements, including the practice of maintaining separate vehicles for officers holding additional charges. The Government’s response indicated that, at present, there is no uniform ceiling governing the number of official vehicles that may be allotted, while the proposed policy seeks to introduce the “One Vehicle–One Officer” principle.
Pathania also raised broader questions relating to public expenditure, including multiple POL claims and alleged instances of double TA/DA claims. He sought information on the corrective measures taken by the Government to prevent or discontinue such practices and asked whether existing monitoring mechanisms were sufficient to ensure accountability.
He further questioned the Government’s reliance on departmental audits and physical verification of official vehicles and sought greater transparency regarding their actual utilisation and expenditure. He also raised the possibility of independent third-party audits to provide an additional layer of verification.
The Government stated that the State Motor Garages Department conducts periodic audits and physical verification of the official vehicle fleet. Details of Administrative Secretaries, Heads of Departments and senior officers allotted more than one official vehicle, including pool and attached vehicles as well as vehicles drawn from subordinate offices, public sector undertakings and corporations, have been provided in an annexure to the Government’s response.
The Assembly discussion consequently extended beyond the issue of vehicle allocation to wider questions concerning accountability, utilisation, monitoring and economy in Government expenditure. The Government has stated that the proposed vehicle policy is intended to rationalise the fleet, optimise utilisation of available resources and promote economy in public expenditure.
However, until the draft Government Vehicle Management Policy, 2026, is approved and formally notified, the existing arrangements continue without a uniform ceiling on vehicle allotments. With the Speaker seeking a fresh response, the Government will now be required to provide greater clarity on the status of the policy, the reasons for the prolonged delay since 2021, the framework governing multiple vehicle allotments in the interim and the safeguards in place to monitor official vehicle use and prevent avoidable expenditure.