Fuel cut for public servants, not for ministers, MPs

By Bandula Sirimanna

Top public officials have been asked by the government to cut fuel consumption but ministers and MPs will face no such austerity measures. Most ministers use super luxury vehicles which are known to be gas guzzlers.

Each minister is paid a monthly fuel allowance of Rs.17, 500 per vehicle in addition to his or her quota as an MP. Parliamentarians get a fuel allowance ranging from Rs. 7,500 to Rs. 30,000 rupees a month, depending on the distance to Colombo from his or her electorate.

No decision has been made to provide a special fuel subsidy to government ministers and foreign diplomatic missions, Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said.

He said the fuel allowance given to Ministers and Deputy Ministers would be same they received prior to the recent oil price hike. However the government was considering various options to cut down the fuel subsidy granted to some 4,000 public servants, he said.

Public Administration Ministry Secretary D. Dissanayake said that Ministry Secretaries got a fuel quota of 180 litres a month, heads of divisions 150 litres and Senior Assistant Secretaries 120 litres.

He said eligible public officials were using around 15,000 vehicles and one of the options suggested was to grant a transport allowance to them while introducing a convenient common transport service. Besides top ministry officials, the restrictions would apply to chairpersons and directors of state bodies.