This amount was last fixed in 1999, when petrol went for Rs. 23.80 a litre in Delhi. Wednesday’s hike, which took the price of the fuel to Rs. 73.18, was the 65th revision in the last 13 years.
If government officials had to pay for the fuel from their pockets now, R700 would take them no further than 70-100 km, depending on what chauffeur-driven car they use.
This charge was introduced in 1994 to legalise personal use of staff cars by secretary-level officers.
“It is not an unlimited concession. There is an upper limit of 500 km a month,” a government official said. But he acknowledged this limit could be “managed” in the logbooks.
Another pointed out, in a lighter vein, that there was an advantage in insulating the bureaucracy from spikes in petrol prices.
"It helps them take decisions in public interest without having to worry about its impact on their household budgets," he remarked.
Incidentally, the concessional charge was fixed in the context of a secretary-rank officer getting a monthly salary of Rs. 26,000 (plus dearness allowance). By now, the fixed scale has increased three-fold to Rs. 80,000.