New Delhi: The Central government has tightened the rules governing the use of official staff cars by introducing a ‘One Officer, One Official Car’ policy. The move is aimed at avoiding unnecessary allotment of additional government vehicles, improving administrative efficiency and ensuring prudent use of public resources.
The Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance has issued an Office Memorandum directing all ministries and departments to strictly follow the revised norms. The instructions supplement the comprehensive staff car guidelines issued in September 2022.
Under the revised policy, an officer who is already entitled to an official staff car will not be provided another government vehicle, even if he or she is assigned additional charge of another ministry, department, public sector undertaking (PSU) or autonomous body. The officer will continue using the existing official vehicle for all assigned responsibilities.
The government has also clarified that Central government officers should not use vehicles belonging to PSUs, autonomous bodies or quasi-government organisations, except while travelling on authorised official duty or tours related to those organisations.
In addition, ministries and departments have been instructed to ensure that surplus or unutilised staff cars remain in proper custody and are not put to unauthorised or unofficial use.
According to the Finance Ministry, the revised instructions are intended to strengthen fiscal discipline, eliminate unnecessary expenditure and promote efficient management of government assets. All ministries and departments have been directed to ensure strict compliance with the new norms.
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