[PrideRed]

Additional collectors of the 33 districts in Telangana state who attended Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao's review meeting at Pragathi Bhavan were in for a pleasant surprise on Sunday. After the meeting, the Chief Minister handed over brand new Kia Carnival SUVs to each of them.

The government had earlier provided Toyota Fortuners to district collectors and joint collectors in 2015 at a cost of Rs 5.25 crore. At that time, the state had just 10 districts, which were now reorganised to 33 districts. High-end cars were provided to collectors of new districts later.

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nati...ancial-cr.html

Not sure which variant but I assume these are mid or top spec. Probably first instance in country where govt. officials get fleet of Carnival.

[porsche_guy]

It's appalling but no longer a shocker. Just look at the absolutely lavish goverment spending on vehicles these days, be it the V Cross pickups in Karnataka or the Nexon EV for the Kerala MVD and now this. I am amused as to how they justify buying these super expensive and fancy vehicles from public money. IMHO these collectors shouldn't be given anything more than a Marazzo to be used for their official duties.

On a lighter vein, these Carnivals will ensure that the collectors experience the unscientific speed breakers and potholed filled roads properly and the government fixes them

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Not sure which variant but I assume these are mid or top spec. Probably first instance in country where govt. officials get fleet of Carnival.

These don't seem to be the top spec Limousine variants due to the lack of the dual sunroofs, nevertheless it's still very expensive

[DicKy]

Not sure of the need, but then compared to giving Fortuners, the Carnivals makes more sense. Then again, trips to hinterlands with poor roads...

But does anyone really need anything more than an Innova?

[TrackDay]

Another waste of tax payers money ! Like BHPian DicKy said, the Innova is more than enough for all needs. It can take on most of the rural roads, provides descent comfort and will last for a very long time.

The carnival will not last as long as the crysta. All those features and gizmos will probably be misused as the car will change hands. That will add to repair and maintenance expenses.

[octane_100]

These Babus don't need anything more than a Bolero to fulfill their official duties. Expensive vehicles for official usage is nothing but one more form of "bribing"

[AutoNoob]

Shameless administrators and their political masters.

Source : TOI

State Finance Minister Harish Rao had recently said that Telangana had suffered a massive revenue loss of up to Rs 4,100 crore due to the COVID-19 lockdown in May and had asked the Centre to increase the FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) limit to 5 per cent from the present 4 per cent, to help it tide over the financial crisis.

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by octane_100

These Babus don't need anything more than a Bolero to fulfill their official duties.

More specifically they should be given Boleros having their suspensions replaced with fixed solid metal supports so that they get a real idea of the road conditions.

[Abhineet Singh]

While giving Carnival is definitely a poor choice, I do think the officers need good cars. Having worked closely with them, I know that they are on the move most of the time. This is true at least at the district level (not the State or national HQs).

And physical fatigue is something which needs to be averted. Most of these officers start using the extra back cushion. Many develop spondylitis.

Having said that, Innova is a much better, sturdier, economical, and reliable option. And there is no need for Fortuner or Carnivals.

[Malyaj]

This is not even about tax payer's money. The whole class system in babudom sucks. The civil services recruits get disproportionately better rooms, chairs, houses, computers etc compared to the others. Even toilets have a class system! As part of my earlier jobs I have been to numerous government offices and interacted with all cadres of staff, from peons to gazetted officers. The difference in their working environments is shameful. The cream of Indian bureaucracy keeps rubbing it in using such decisions.

[srini1785]

Look at it this way. Its a way of asserting authority based on a social structure established by car model ownership. An informal survey may have already established that the majority of the peons have nothing less than a Wagon R themselves. So anything less than a Carnival would have had disastrous consequences on smooth running of Govt command hierarchy.

[SmartCat]

Out of curiosity, what are the job responsibilities of a "Collector"? Local taxes and stuff like that?

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Out of curiosity, what are the job responsibilities of a "Collector"? Local taxes and stuff like that?

Collector is same as Deputy Commissioner or simply called DC in Karnataka. They do have quite a lot of responsibility but I think Innova or even Endeavour/Fortuner suits their travel needs better. All said, during current times of distress, expense to the tune of 10Cr is uncalled for.

[sierrabravo98]

I hope the roads in Karnataka (especially in the hinterlands) are in extremely good shape. Else, within the next 1-2 years, we will see these Carnivals' rotting away in some government workshop awaiting fund clearance for expensive repairs. The Carnival is too low and too long to be used in as demanding a job as ferrying about the Collector (or DC/DM as called in other states). The DM is on the move for more than half the week and has to visit all sorts of places as part of his/her official duties.

In Delhi/Uttar Pradesh, the Collector's (called DM) use the Safari Storme/Crysta/Scorpio as their offical vehicles. Have heard that DMs in Delhi also have access to Ciaz/City. These vehicles are sufficient, and more importantly, robust for the role.

I simply do not understand why District in-charges are allotted 25-30L vehicles (ofcourse the Government got a discount) when, here in Delhi, I see Cabinet Ministers and Secretaries of important departments (basically the people who run the country) moving about in a Maruti Ciaz (and that too the mid-spec variant in most cases). That the state is so much in debt already (they are requesting the Union Government to relax their debt ceiling even further) just adds insult to the injury.

[fhdowntheline]

Why dont they get reliable, comfortable cars like Corolla ? The Corolla line in India should have actually continued just for this purpose. Its an ideal vehicle in terms of space, reliability and has a certain presence (especially white/silver).

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Why dont they get reliable, comfortable cars like Corolla ? The Corolla line in India should have actually continued just for this purpose. Its an ideal vehicle in terms of space, reliability and has a certain presence (especially white/silver).

Corolla and innova are not the same, in all fairness corolla did not recieve the attention from its maker in India, perhaps due to less demand. Corolla, like Civic will give you big bills as they age and on our roads they wil age a lot faster than an Innova.