Chandigarh MC turns to GPS to put brakes on misuse of its vehicles

Even log books of all vehicles, which are currently being maintained manually, will be recorded online by linking them with GPS tracker.

With the municipal corporation’s annual fuel consumption touching ₹15 crore, MC commissioner KK Yadav has ordered installation of Global Positioning System (GPS) trackers in all official and field vehicles of the corporation to stop possible misuse and pilferage.

Once GPS trackers are installed, the movement of vehicles will be monitored through a control unit, to be established inside the MC office. Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

Even log books of all vehicles, which are currently being maintained manually, will be recorded online by linking them with GPS tracker.

Interestingly, to ensure transparency throughout MC’s pecking order, Yadav will get the tracker installed even in his official vehicle.

Yadav said he had passed directions to ensure that all MC vehicles, whether his or anybody else’s, must have GPS installed by September 30 to monitor their movement.

He said the move was taken to promote transparency into the working of corporation and to stop misuse of government vehicles, if any.

Fleet of 400 vehicles

The corporation has approximately 400 vehicles used by different wings. The sanitation department owns a major chunk, for lifting garbage and field visits of sanitary and chief sanitary inspectors.

Then officials above the rank of sub-divisional officers (SDO) are allowed to have a government vehicle, but the consumption limit is fixed.

For instance, the maximum consumption allowed for an SDO is 200km, 225km in case of executive engineer, 250km for superintending engineers and chief engineers, followed by 300km for the mayor and MC commissioner.

No official is permitted to utilise these vehicles for personal use. Even if the MC chief or mayor takes the vehicle away for personal use, it is subject to prior permissions and requisite payment as per the central rules.

Sources said currently there was no foolproof system in MC to establish whether government vehicles were being misused, leading to fuel charges shooting up.

Once GPS trackers are installed, the movement of vehicles will be monitored through a control unit, to be established inside the MC office. With this, the civic body can keep a tab on the movement of its fleet.

MC chief gets cracking

Biometric attendance for all MC employees from September 1. Salary dispersal to be linked with biometric attendance from October salary.

Salary cut of supervisors if employees are absent during duty hours, apart from disciplinary action against the said employee

All branch heads told to maintain a movement register to ensure that no employee leaves their designated office premises without making entry into the movement register

Ordered GPS-enabled wristwatches for 4,000 safai karamcharis and other field staff employees to track their designated location

Ordered recalling of MC staff deputed at the houses of corporation’s officials.