The department was issued petro cards starting November 1 to increase efficiency, and also put a stop to vehicle misuse

Cops save Rs 30 lakh a month

The department was issued petro cards starting November 1 to increase efficiency, and also put a stop to vehicle misuse

The big save: Earlier, all vehicles would visit petrol pumps at least five
times a month, wasting around 25 litres on an average. File Pic

The scheme, would not only save time and manpower, but could also keep a tab of misuse of official vehicles, said a senior police officer who is in-charge of the scheme.

Citing an example, he said that the city police have around 2,400 vehicles that are unequally distributed among the officers. This has not only hampered efficiency, but also has lead to unequal distribution of fuel quota, he said.

In order to distribute the vehicles, a survey was conducted, and it was found that around 400 vehicles were being excessively used, which now have been withdrawn. The remaining 2,000 vehicles have been redistributed to the officers concerned as per the requirements.

Such vehicles are constantly being monitored through the Global Positioning System (GPS) fitted to them. "The cards can be used in any Indian Oil Corporation Petrol pumps across the state, he said"

ACP U Nisar Ahmed said, "The city police used to consume around 1.10 lakh litres of diesel and 82,000 of petrol every month. But with the new scheme, there was a 30 per cent reduction in the consumption." He added that despite the cut down in fuel, the police activities are normal in terms of transportation.

Savings all around
"Earlier all police vehicles used to visit the City Armed Reserve (CAR) petrol pumps exclusively meant for the police, which resulted in wastage of approximately 5 litres of fuel, with an additional waste of three hours to cover around 20 km, and manpower as well," said Shankar Bidari, Commissioner of police.

Likewise, all vehicles would visit petrol pumps at least five times a month, wasting around 25 litres on an average. "Issuing of petro cards could save Rs 1,250 per vehicle, every month," he added.

Traffic advisor to state government, MN Srihari welcomed this scheme, stating this would not only save money to the state exchequer but also bring down pollution levels, and conserve fuel, which is the need of the hour.
"This scheme should be implemented in all government departments," he added.

Dressing down

Recently, an ACP was caught using his official vehicle for personal use. As a reprimand, his vehicle was seized. This forced him to use public transportation for quite a few days.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels