Srinagar, Sept 24: Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on Thursday pulled up Transport Minister Satish Sharma over the continued use of multiple government vehicles by officers.

The issue came up during Question Hour when BJP MLA Ranbir Singh Pathania raised a question whether J&K government proposes to enforce "one officer- one vehicle" ceiling across all the departments.
In its written reply Transport Minister said there is currently no specific policy prescribing a uniform ceiling for the allotment or retention of official vehicles by individual officers across all departments, PSUs, boards and autonomous bodies.
The government said a "revised car policy" is under consideration and proposes to introduce the principle of "one vehicle-one officer".
The proposed policy would, however, provide exceptions based on security requirements, field duties, additional assignments or charges, operational exigencies and the functional requirements of particular departments or organisations.
According to the government, once approved, the revised policy would be implemented across the concerned departments, PSUs, boards and autonomous bodies.
The Speaker questioned Sharma over the delay in acting on a report received by his office on September 1, 2026.
"If the report came to your office on Sept 1, 2026, why haven't you done anything about it till today, and you are telling us that it will take two more months," Rather said.
He also questioned the practice of providing separate vehicles to an officer holding charge of two departments.
"Why can't an officer in charge of two departments use the same vehicle rather than using two different vehicles?" Rather asked.
Responding to the Speaker, Sharma said the government would look into the matter, describing it as a "legacy issue".
"We will look into it. It is a legacy issue. I will come back to you with detail tomorrow," Sharma said. Rather, however, questioned whether an existing practice could not be changed if it was found to be incorrect.
"If legacy is wrong, can't you correct it? Are you going to give us details in this session?" the Speaker asked.
Sharma assured the House that he would return with the details.
The Speaker emphasised that the Government should provide a clear position before the House so that the Members are duly apprised of the timeline envisaged for giving effect to the policy.
The direction of the Speaker underscores the importance of timely action on matters concerning rationalisation and effective management of Government vehicles, and of keeping the House duly informed of the progress and proposed course of action.
The Government is accordingly required to apprise the House, within the current Session, of the definite timeline for implementation of the Government Vehicle Management Policy, 2026.