The obvious point of concern is that vehicles, some of them quite expensive, bought for development projects are now in unauthorised use. One would not be surprised if many of them have been lost for good.

The parliamentary standing committee on establishment ministry has endorsed the recommendation that there be proper use of such vehicles. Obviously, the illegal users have to be identified and punished. The drain on the public exchequer is far too evident, since the fuel costs must have been borne by the government after the projects were closed down. So it has not only been a breach of the law but also spending of public money without proper authorisation. The question of a fundamental financial rule being violated does arise for cogent reasons.

It is also an example of development finance going the wrong way. Software and transport purchases usually take away big chunk of project funds -- an issue that has faced criticism on a regular basis. On top of that, we now have the issue of those missing vehicles. The exchequer has been robbed of money and it also brings into notice the extent of the use of government transports by the officials.

The issue calls for something more than routine handling of anomalies and irregularities. A scooping investigation must be conducted to find out how misuse of government vehicles took place on such a scale and why the vehicles were not made over to the central pool. Amendment to the public transport rules, as suggested by the ministry itself, should also be considered in right earnest. The decision makers should put their heads together and write out a comprehensive code for use of government vehicles, including those handed over after completion of projects.