By Imkong Walling
A little over a week ago, on Valentine’s night, there was a road mishap in Dimapur that generated quite a buzz. The incident involved a Government of Nagaland vehicle in a precarious state after ramming into a lane-divider and toppling a traffic blinker at the Duncan-Riverbelt-Fellowship tri-junction on the Tajen Ao Road.
There were no casualties— a fortuitous escape for the “young” individual behind the wheel. While not a first for a lane-divider that has seen many such collisions, the involvement of the deified NL 10, a transport prefix that screams prestige, ensured the crash sparked public outrage.
Contrasting past crashes in the same spot, it attracted a police complaint with the Dimapur Urban Council Chairmen Federation (DUCCF) filing an FIR citing endangerment to public safety, damage to public property, while calling out a flagrant disregard for civic responsibility.
The police were quick to react, tracing the offender within hours. It turned out that the unnamed “young” driver was the son of a government official. The FIR was later withdrawn after the government official reportedly agreed to repair the damage.
The story supposedly ended there. It does not, however. The incident shines a spotlight on a pervasive VIP culture, and the unauthorised use of government vehicles in Nagaland with impunity, for purposes other than official work.
The practice is apparent to all— from school duty and spouses using it for shopping, to adult children socialising or private trips for picnics and village visits. While some may attempt to justify this, the law is clear on the use of ‘sarkari’ vehicles.
Per the ‘Central Government Staff Car Rules,’ only officers of the rank of Joint Secretary and above are entitled to conditional use of ‘Staff cars’ for private purposes.
Officers below the said rank have no such privilege; the vehicles allotted to them are strictly intended for “official business.” Any use outside the scope of official work can be treated as a violation.
Every journey must be accounted for and a logbook maintained by a designated officer. In case of an accident, the government is not precluded from taking disciplinary action against the driver or the official, if they are found responsible.
The All India Services (Conduct) Rules treat the use of a government car or driver for personal errands as “conduct unbecoming of an officer.” Misuse of government vehicles (public property) can even be prosecuted under Section 316 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
While states generally follow these Central norms, Nagaland sees a blatant disregard for them. It extends to the use of government cargo vehicles (NL 11s) for personal chores such as for transporting construction material for building an officer’s or a relative’s house.
In a system where even the police constabulary is reduced to domestic labour, the misuse of NL 10s and 11s as private transport barely generates a whisper.
It is the symptom of a mindset frozen in a ‘saab’ culture. A damaged lane-divider can be fixed; a bigger fix that Nagaland needs is the dismantling of ‘sarkari’ entitlement.
The writer is a Principal Correspondent at The Morung Express. Comments can be sent to imkongwalls@gmail.com
