Amid cash crunch, Maha nod to buy ₹1.37-cr cars for 4 mins, babu, dept

MUMBAI: While the state government is facing a cash crunch owing to the shrinking revenue receipts amid Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, the state gave special permission to buy six high-end cars for four ministers, a bureaucrat and a department. The cars will cost ₹1.37 crore to the exchequer.

The six Innova Crysta sevenseater cars costing ₹22.83 lakh each are meant for use of school education minister Varsha Gaikwad, her deputy (MOS) Bachchu Kadu, sports minister Sunil Kedar, his deputy Aditi Tatkare, the additional chief secretary of the school education and sports department, while the sixth car is for the office use of the department. A government resolution (GR) giving sanction for the purchase from a Mumbaibased agency was issued on Saturday.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has given special sanction for purchase as the price of the cars was exceeding the approved limit of ₹20 lakh for vehicles used by ministers.

The state has sustained revenue loss of more than ₹50,000 crore in the past four months due to the lockdown announced after the outbreak of the pandemic. Officials in the finance department said exceptional sanction for the vehicles meant for the secretary and office use was unwarranted.