Under-fire Milco yard vehicles to come under the hammer
The Defender which the deputy minister mentioned had undergone extensive repairs and had a defective engine, while our records were not clear as to which ministry it previously belonged
Vehicles left exposed to the elements in a yard of the Milco Company that came under the purview of the Ministry of Rural Economy are to be auctioned shortly, an official said.
The vehicles, including cars, cabs and jeeps, were brought to the spotlight after Palitha Thewarapperuma, Deputy Minister of Internal affairs, Wayamba Development and Cultural affairs, paid a surprise visit to the yard which was near a Narahempita private hospital where he was receiving treatment.
He said he learnt about the vehicles from hospital employees and he found most of these vehicles were in good condition.
Mr. Thewarapperuma claimed that the Rural Economy Ministry had decided to auction the vehicle only after his visit, but Ministry officials insisted that they had long planned to call for tenders to dispose of the vehicles.
The 21 vehicles include a Defender jeep , two Audi A8 cars , a Rexton Jeep, Tida cars, Nissan Cefiro cars, N -16 cars and Bolero jeeps.
Rural Economy Ministry Additional Secretary Menaka P. Abeyratna said paper work was in the final stages ahead of the tender to sell 17 of the 21 vehicles, which they had parked at Milco premises due to lack of space at the ministry yard. The other vehicles would be given to departments coming under the ministry.
She said the vehicles belonged to three ministries during the previous regime -the Ministries of Welfare, Social Services and Livestock -- but now they belonged to the Rural Economy Ministry because the three subjects had been brought under it.
Ms. Abeyratna said that though most of these vehicles appeared to be in good condition, they required major overhauls and replacement of corroded parts.
“The Defender which the deputy minister mentioned had undergone extensive repairs and had a defective engine, while our records were not clear as to which ministry it previously belonged.” she said.
She admitted that one of the Audi cars was in prime condition but the vehicle was an economic burden as its fuel efficiency was four kilometres per litre.