Punjab govt to purchase 108 vehicles for ministers, officers worth Rs1.14bn

LAHORE: The Punjab government plans to purchase 108 new vehicles for provincial ministers and bureaucrats at a cost of Rs1.14 billion.

The decision comes amid criticism of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif over the government’s purchase of a luxury aircraft for her personal use.

According to sources at the Services & General Administration Department (S&GAD), the transport wing has submitted its recommendations to the cabinet for the procurement, which includes 28 new vehicles for the provincial ministers for Rs 30 crore.

The proposed fleet comprises 1 Land Cruiser, 2 Haval H6 1.5T, 5 Altis Grande, 10 Toyota Altis, and 10 Toyota Yaris vehicles.

Additionally, two ministers are set to receive bulletproof 4×4 vehicles worth Rs4 crore. The source said that the government has already approved bulletproof cars.

For VIP security, the government has also approved recommendations to purchase 25 vehicles worth Rs27 crore. Officials said the procurement process will begin once the approvals are finalized.

Earlier, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, criticized the provincial government’s spending priorities.

He noted that while Punjab’s poverty rate has increased by 31 percent, the Chief Minister purchased an aircraft worth Rs11 billion.

Addressing a gathering, Hafiz Naeem alleged that instead of focusing on real development, public money collected through taxes is being spent on advertisements.

“There is no real development in Punjab; advertisements are being run with taxpayers’ money,” he said.

The Jamaat-e-Islami chief claimed that poverty has increased the most in Punjab, adding that nearly 10 million children in the province are still out of school.