No State Funds For Special Vehicle Numbers: Maharashtra Govt

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday said it will not bear the cost if officials opt for special vehicle registration numbers, noting the additional expense does not qualify for state funding.

The move is part of the government's broader push to curb unnecessary expenditure and maintain financial discipline.

The state finance department issued a circular saying it had noticed that government offices were spending substantial amounts to obtain specific registration numbers, commonly referred to as RTO special numbers. Since no government orders permit such numbers for official vehicles, the expenditure should not be charged to the state exchequer, it said.

If an official or an office spends money to obtain a special number for a government vehicle, "under no circumstances" will funds be sanctioned to meet that expense, the circular said.

The finance department noted that the government already incurs considerable expenditure on vehicles, including their repair and maintenance, fuel and drivers' salaries. Vehicle-related spending should therefore be restricted to what is necessary, keeping in mind the policy of economy in overall expenditure, it said.

The directive will apply to all state government departments and their subordinate machinery, rural and urban local bodies, universities, educational institutions, statutory and autonomous bodies, and public sector undertakings.

The departments have been directed to bring the circular to the immediate notice of all offices under their control.