Haryana ministers, top government officers to get new luxury cars

Ministers and chief parliamentary secretaries, of the Haryana government surely seem to know how to live it up in style. They will soon get to replace the  luxury cars provided to them barely two years ago by  new models of their choice.

Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is said to have made up his mind to replace his Mercedes, extended the privilege to his ministers and chief parliamentary secretaries about a month ago by asking them to choose the new vehicles they would like for themselves. While Hyundai Santa Fe emerged as the first choice, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata were next on the wish list.

While in-principle approval for the purchase of the new luxury cars, had already been given by the finance department the supplies and disposal department has been in touch with dealers for finalising the price. The government gets discounted prices for its purchases as it buys in bulk.

Without the discount, the marked price of a Santa Fe (top model) is around Rs 25 lakh, while a Camry (top end) weighs in at Rs23 lakh and Sonata (top end) is available for Rs20 lakh.

Most of the nine cabinet ministers and three ministers of state have Camry and Honda CRV, with 11 CPSs having Toyota Fortuner.

Apart from these, they have been vehicles for use in Chandigarh, though it is another matter that their family members are using them more.

In justification of the purchase, finance department officials point out that the vehicles of some of the ministers and chief parliamentary secretaries had completed their run of 1.5 lakh km, a mandatory condition for a change of vehicle.