KATHMANDU: While some under-secretaries have been forced to use public transport and ride-sharing services to commute to Singha Durbar, ministries and government departments after losing official vehicles, several ministers and senior officials are reportedly continuing to use multiple government vehicles.

According to a report published by Jan Aastha, 745 four-wheeled vehicles previously used by employees below the joint-secretary level were withdrawn and placed in a central pool. However, some ministers and officials, including members of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, are reportedly still using several government vehicles.

The report says vehicles registered under government number plates have also been converted to red plates for official use. Among those reportedly using such vehicles is Prime Minister’s Private Secretary Pradeep Pariyar. A high-end vehicle previously used by Department of Land Management and Archives Director General Namraj Ghimire, bearing registration number 6533, has reportedly been assigned a red plate number 4534 and is being used by Secretariat officials.

Home Minister Sudan Gurung, who had previously announced that he would not accept government salary, allowances or facilities before becoming a minister, is reportedly using three vehicles.

According to Home Ministry sources, the vehicles include a Skoda with registration number BAA 9514, a Land Cruiser previously used by former Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal and registered under Nepal Police headquarters (Ba 1 Jha 6433), and another Toyota Land Cruiser (Ba 2 Jha 446) previously taken from the Election Commission.

Agriculture, Forest and Environment Minister Geeta Chaudhary is also reportedly using multiple vehicles belonging to different government agencies.

Sources say two vehicles belonging to the Ministry of Forests, two from the Ministry of Agriculture and vehicles owned by the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) have been assigned for her use. These reportedly include an NTNC Renault Duster (Ba 1 Jha 2921), a Bagmati Province vehicle (Ba 1-028 Cha 2937) operated with a ministerial flag, and another vehicle for her private secretariat.

Two vehicles previously registered under the Agriculture Ministry—Ba 2 Jha 3867, now bearing embossed number Ba 1-07069, and Ba 2 Jha 8228, now Ba 1-07074—have also reportedly been assigned to the minister. A vehicle belonging to the Department of Forests and an electric vehicle owned by NTNC are also reportedly being used by her.

Sources further claim that salaries of the minister’s advisers and private drivers are being paid through the NTNC.

The report also says that when Minister Chaudhary travelled to Bangkok last month to attend a climate change-related programme, around US$1,000 was reportedly spent from the NTNC.

The issue has raised questions over the government’s vehicle-pooling policy and the apparent disparity between restrictions imposed on civil servants and the facilities retained by political officeholders.