Ludhiana MC to auction off 70 old cars

MC secretary Jasdev Sekhon said the decision to auction them off has been taken due to their low mileage and high maintenance costs

The fund-starved municipal corporation (MC) has decided to auction off around 70 old vehicles (mostly ambassadors and gypsy cars) to reduce expenditure incurred on their fuel and repairs.

The vehicles to be auctioned off are mostly ambassadors and gypsy cars. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Most of these vehicles are over 15-years-old and were allotted to superintendent and sub-divisional level officers of the MC.

Sources in the civic body said that with this move, the MC is also trying to put a stop to the unnecessary use of government vehicles by officials. Now, a specified number of vehicles will be provided at the zone offices which will be allotted to field staff only after getting permission from the zonal commissioner.

An official, requesting anonymity, said, “Officials will now have to use their own vehicles. This will stop wastage of fuel, as many times, the officials use government vehicles for personal reasons. Mayor Balkar Sandhu is keeping an eye on fuel consumption and has also caught a few cases of fuel theft by MC officials.”

The decision on purchase of new vehicles will be taken by higher authorities.

MC secretary Jasdev Sekhon said, “The outdated vehicles have been kept at the MC’s workshop in Hambran road. The decision to auction them off has been taken due to their low mileage and high maintenance costs.”