PESHAWAR/KARACHI: Following the second hike of Rs30 within a span of hike that has left petrol prices at Rs209.86 per litre and diesel at Rs 204.15/litre, the provincial governments of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have announced a reduction in the quota of government officials.

The announcement from the KP government came hours after that of Sindh.

“On the instructions of the Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, there has been a 35 per cent reduction on the allocation of petrol to government departments. This decision has been taken in light of the fuel price hike.”

Earlier, the unverified Twitter account of the Sindh Chief Minister House had tweeted about the decision.

The tweet stated the fuel quota of the Sindh chief minister and provincial government officers has been reduced by 40 per cent.

Sindh quota

According to current and former public servants, the fuel quota in Sindh is determined on the basis of an officer’s post and not his grade.

Officers of grade 18 and above are usually provided fuel quota. Others are provided conveyance allowance, which is a component of their salary.

A deputy secretary is usually an 18-grade officer and they get 150 litres of fuel per month. A 40% reduction means that their quota would now be reduced to 90 litres.

An additional secretary is a 19-grade officer and is entitled to 200 litres per month. The reduction would see their quota drop to 120 litres.

The secretary of the department can be a grade 20 or grade 21 officer. They are entitled to 250 litres per month. The reduction would see their quota curtailed to 150 litres.

Field offices, on the other hand, have different fuel limits as per their requirements.

One government employee said that the provincial government has slashed the budget provision for fuel. “If they had Rs100 for fuel before, now they will have Rs60.”

The public servant said the move was geared towards making public office holders use less fuel at the cost of the public exchequer.