Archive · 28 Oct 2025
UT Guest House Paid Rs 27 Lakh for Punjab Raj Bhawan Vehicle Upkeep
Imagine you have two toys that belong to your friend, but you keep them at your house.
An auditor looked at the bills for these toys and found that you paid for their batteries and repairs, even though your friend was the one playing with them.
The auditor said this wasn't fair and that your friend should pay you back.
This happened with some cars and drivers that were supposed to help with official guests in Chandigarh.
The UT guest house paid for the cars' gas and fixes, and also paid the drivers who worked for the Punjab Raj Bhawan.
The auditor said the UT guest house should get that money back from the Punjab government because they were the ones using the cars and drivers.
An audit report found UT Guest House paid Rs 27.10 lakh for maintenance and fuel of two vehicles placed at Punjab Raj Bhawan's disposal.
The UT Guest House also irregularly paid Rs 87.08 lakh for the salaries of two drivers deputed to Punjab Raj Bhawan.
These vehicles were originally allotted to the UT Guest House by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2011 but were transferred to Punjab Raj Bhawan in 2013.
The audit recommended recovering the expenditure incurred by the UT Guest House from the Punjab government.
Hospitality Department authorities have not provided a reply to the audit findings.
- Who
- UT Guest House and Punjab Raj Bhawan
- What
- An audit report found that the UT Guest House irregularly paid for the maintenance, fuel, and driver salaries of vehicles and drivers that were at the disposal of Punjab Raj Bhawan.
- When
- The vehicles were placed at Raj Bhawan's disposal from July 22, 2013, and drivers were deputed from the same date. Expenditures cover periods up to 2024-25.
- Where
- Chandigarh
- Why
- The audit report suggests that the expenditure incurred by the UT Guest House on services used by the Punjab Raj Bhawan should be recovered from the Punjab government.
- Irregular Expenditure on Vehicles
- Rs 27.10 lakh
- Irregular Expenditure on Drivers' Pay
- Rs 87.08 lakh
- Vehicle Allotment Date
- November 14, 2011
- Vehicles Placed at Raj Bhawan Disposal
- July 22, 2013
- Drivers Deputed to Raj Bhawan
- July 22, 2013
- Vehicles Condemned/Auctioned
- CH01G1-3226 and CH01G1-3212
- New Vehicles Provided
- January 31, 2017 (CH01-GB-0001 and CH01-GB-0002)
