Government Vehicle Misuse Alleged Inside Labour Ministry Despite PM Office Order

Allegations of government vehicle misuse have surfaced inside the Ministry of Youth, Labour and Employment at a time when the government has announced that more than 745 four-wheeled official vehicles have been recalled from across the country. Legally, only officials at the gazetted first-class level, joint secretary, or above are entitled to use four-wheeled government vehicles. However, sources claim that deputy secretary-level employees inside the Labour Ministry are also using official vehicles. The issue has become more serious because the facility, which was reportedly stopped for some time after the instruction of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers’ Office, was allegedly resumed again under the direction of the ministry’s senior administrative leadership.

According to ministry sources, the Prime Minister’s Office had instructed all bodies to recall vehicles from employees who were not legally entitled to the facility and keep unnecessarily used vehicles within the ministry or department. Following the instruction, keys of vehicles used by deputy secretaries in the Labour Ministry were reportedly taken back and the vehicles were parked inside the ministry premises. However, sources claim that the instruction did not remain effective for long. After the direction of Administration Division Chief and Joint Secretary Baburam Bhandari, vehicles parked inside the ministry were allegedly sent back for use by deputy secretaries. This has raised questions over the effectiveness of the Prime Minister’s Office directive and led to accusations of double standards in implementing state decisions inside the ministry. Employees have also raised concerns over Bhandari’s role in staff deployment, transfers, administrative decisions and resource management. At a time when the government is emphasizing good governance, austerity and protection of public property, the alleged misuse of government vehicles inside a ministry has raised questions about accountability. Responsible ministry officials have not yet made a formal response, while pressure is growing for a fair investigation and public disclosure of the facts.