KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 17

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration issued a circular to all 77 district coordination committees and 753 local levels, directing them to provide details of four-wheelers they own.

As per the Internal Management Section of the MoFAGA, the details should comprise name and designation of officials who have been using the vehicles and types and registration number of the four-wheelers. The DCCs and local levels have been told to send details to the IMS as soon as possible.

The circular posted by the MoFAGA on its website stated that the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers had requested it to collect and compile details of four-wheelers possessed by it and its subordinate agencies through a letter dated November 24.

In August, the Supreme Court had issued an order to the Government of Nepal to submit a report with proposal and action plan on the management of dysfunctional vehicles and materials dumped on the premises of government offices.

In response to a writ petition, a division bench of justices Anil Kumar Sinha and Hari Prasad Phuyal had also directed the government to form a committee headed by a secretary of the OPMCM to conduct an inquiry into the matter and submit a report to the apex court within six months with effect from August 10.

As per the SC, the committee should comprise representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Office of the Auditor General, Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority and the writ petitioner.

The writ petitioner held that the government authorities had the tendency to purchase new vehicles with every transfer and abandon the existing four-wheelers, furniture and other office logistics unused saying they were ‘dysfunctional, non-operational and old’ without fulfilling legal procedures. This has resulted in huge loss of state funds collected from the people’s tax money.

According to Rule 58 of the Financial Procedures Rules-2007, any goods considered worthless because it is old, worn out and unfit and unworthy of repairs should be auctioned within six months.

Contrary to such a legal provision, the authorities concerned rarely auction the goods and choose to dump them on the office premises without technical examination of machinery even when they can be repaired. This is often done to enjoy new vehicles and logistics by misusing state funds.

This problem is prevalent in all three tiers of government.

Lack of proper utilisation of government vehicles, machinery and goods has not only caused adverse impacts on the environment but also spoiled the aesthetics of the concerned offices.