Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has rationalised the allotment and use of official vehicles for government officers in view of the prevailing fuel and energy challenges arising out of the West Asia crisis.
As per a directive issued by the Finance department, officers holding the rank of Special Secretary and above will continue to be entitled to independent official vehicles for official purposes. However, officers promoted to the rank of Additional Secretary on or after June 1, 2026, will be required to use official vehicles on a pool basis. They will become eligible for an independent vehicle only after completing three years of service in the same rank. Those who had already been allotted independent official vehicles on or before May 31 will remain exempt from this condition.
Similarly, under the revised norms, officers from the rank of Under Secretary to joint secretary working in administrative apartments, as well as officers of equivalent rank serving in various heads of departments, will be provided with pool vehicles. The department has directed that at least two to three officers should share a single pool vehicle.
It further stipulated that a uniform monthly deduction of Rs 1,680 will be made from officers using pool vehicles, irrespective of their rank, in accordance with existing government provisions. The government advised the officers to travel by bus or rail, as far as practicable, during official tours to distant locations within the state, instead of using official vehicles.
The revised guidelines will also apply to all state government undertakings, autonomous institutions, universities and societies across the state. Odisha has made purchase of electric vehicles (EV) mandatory for all government departments from June 1 and also fixed a cap for such purchase at different level. By 2029, the government has also decided to convert the entire fleet of hired vehicles to EVs to reduce dependence on fuel.