PESHAWAR, Sept 28: The NWFP government is set to purchase 30 new luxury cars for its 27 ministers, eating up approximately Rs48 million of the cash-strapped province, it is learnt.

“Order for the purchase of 30 brand new cars each having capacity of 1800cc has been placed by the NWFP Administration Department a few weeks ago, while the cabinet members of the coalition government are expected to travel by their new cars after Eid,” a source told Dawn.

Each car, according to source, will cost Rs1.6 million to the provincial exchequer, which drives 90 per cent resources from the external resources such as federal proceeds, grants and loans.

Currently, the provincial ministers are using staff cars of 1300cc engine capacity, which the officials of administration department claim are ‘unable’ to facilitate their swift movement despite the fact that these vehicles have been purchased only one and half year back.

The former MMA government, when joined the office in 2002, banned the purchase of new vehicles in a bid to curtail non-development expenditures and it maintained the policy for its first three years in power. However, while relaxing the ban, it purchased latest vehicles for its 16 ministers and their provincial secretaries in the remaining last two years of its tenure.

The placement of orders for luxury vehicles has raised many eyebrows in the official circle, which term it a ‘blow’ for the provincial kitty. “Spending on luxury vehicles shows as if we have improved our social services and eliminated poverty from the province,” opined a disgruntled official, adding that the province had the highest rate of poverty and unemployment, while scarce resources were being spent on such luxuries.

Apart from the staff cars, every provincial minister and NWFP Assembly speaker have three to five official vehicles at their disposal, which means the government is bearing additional burden in shape of maintenance and fuel expenses of these vehicles.

An official said that the Finance department, being the financial regulator, had opposed the purchase of luxury vehicles, when a summary was sent to it for vetting a few days ago.

The Finance department, said the official, observed that the provincial ministers were allowed to use staff car of 1300cc engine capacity and purchase of 1800cc engine capacity would need additional resources.

The Administration department, however, had overruled the Finance department observations and had given the orders for ‘big’ cars, the official said.

As the provincial government was purchasing new vehicles for ministers, the brand new recently purchased luxury car of NWFP Assembly speaker received heavy damages, when it overturned a few days ago.

It is learnt that a private driver of the Frontier Assembly speaker was driving the car at the approximate speed of 160 kilometres per hour, when it crashed on the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway. The government had to spend Rs1.2 million on its repair, another source said.

Sources said that provincial government had purchased a luxury car for the speaker, which cost Rs3.5 million to the provincial kitty. At the moment value of the same car in the open market stands at Rs5 million since the prices of automobile had increased recently.