Kerala Crisis, Judges’ Comforts: Pinarayi Govt to Spend ₹9 Crore on New Cars Despite Empty Coffers
Thiruvananthapuram: At a time when Kerala is grappling with a severe financial crisis, the state cabinet has sanctioned the purchase of 32 new luxury vehicles for High Court judges at a cost of ₹9 crore. The approval came after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan personally intervened to bypass strong objections raised by the state’s own Finance Department and Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal.
The decision was made during a cabinet meeting on June 18, details of which have now come to light.
The Finance Department had put up stiff resistance to the proposal, noting the inappropriateness of such a large expenditure when even state ministers are using old vehicles that have run for hundreds of thousands of kilometers.
In an official file noting, the department stated, “Many of the cars currently used by ministers have travelled between 1 lakh and 3.75 lakh kilometers. Considering this fact and the state’s current financial crisis, it is not appropriate to approve the purchase of new cars at a cost of ₹9 crore.” Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal fully endorsed this position.
However, once the Finance Department registered its dissent, the file was escalated to the Chief Minister for a final decision. Mr. Vijayan, setting aside the objections, deemed the High Court’s request “acceptable” and directed the file to be presented before the cabinet for approval.
As any vehicle purchase exceeding ₹10 lakh requires special cabinet sanction, the Chief Minister’s directive fast-tracked the matter, leading to its swift approval.
The Kerala High Court had approached the government for new vehicles citing a Punjab-Haryana High Court ruling that allows for the replacement of cars that are over five years old or have run more than 80,000 kilometers. The government will now purchase 32 Toyota Innova Hycross VX(O) model cars for the judges.
