Gas-guzzling government talks austerity, burns crores

Petrol flows like water in the government. Not just ministers and officials of the central and state governments, even PSUs and other government agencies don't have a limit on petrol/diesel consumption. Procuring any data on the fuel bill of the government is impossible because - believe it or not - no tab is kept on it. Ministries, for instance, club fuel with other "office expenses" (OE), which includes everything from stationery to toilet paper. The OE of the central government in Delhi was estimated at Rs 5,200 crore in 2011-12. A major chunk of this would be fuel. Read More