SHC stays purchase of luxury vehicles for Sindh ACs

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has halted the implementation of a notification regarding the purchase of 138 double-cabin luxury vehicles for Assistant Commissioners (ACs) until the next hearing.

While the Sindh government has denounced the claims of luxury cars purchase for the assistant commissioners in the media.

The SHC heard the case filed by Jamaat-e-Islami member of the Sindh Assembly Muhammad Farooq through his counsel Usman Farooq.

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The court has given the involved parties four weeks to respond to the petition.

The case revolves around a letter issued by the Sindh Government’s Services, General Administration & Coordination Department (SGA&CD), requesting the release of funds for the purchase of these vehicles.

The petitioner Muhammad Farooq raised concerns over the allocation of public funds for the purchase prompting the court to intervene.

SINDH GOVERNMENT CLARIFIES

 The Sindh government has denounced the claims of luxury cars purchase for the assistant commissioners in the media.

The Sindh government asserted that news of allocation of 2 billion to buy luxury cars for ACs had no context. It was presented without any details in a negative way.

In the clarification message, it was stated that officers had to do hectic duties in remote areas for 24 hours to ensure running of government machinery.

Suzuki cultus vehicles for ACs were purchased for the last time in 2010 and 2012 and they had not been upgraded yet.

Suzuki cultus cars had an average age of seven to eight years and most of the cars allotted to officers had been outdated and crossed the mileage of 0.8 million.

Most of the officers didn’t possess personal cars and they were compelled to rent out private cars to perform their duties in emergencies.

The Sindh government reiterated that double cabin vehicles couldn’t be labeled as luxury cars and the decision to buy vehicles for ACs mustn’t be regarded as a luxurious act.

It is pertinent to note that the Sindh government had decided to purchase 138 4×4 double cabin vehicles for ACs.