Govt vehicles to get GPS trackers in J-K: Minister

Jammu and Kashmir State Motor Garage Department (SMGD) will install GPS devices in all the government vehicles to monitor their movement, state transport minister Sunil Kumar Sharma said today.
Sharma said the initiative of installing the Global Positioning System (GPS) forms the part of government's policy to enforce "austerity and transparency" in the working of departments.
"The movement of vehicles will be monitored through a Traffic Control unit which is being established in the department office building here," he said.
With the commissioning of the control unit, the department can keep a tab and maintain the record of the movement of its fleet including the vehicles attached with different departments and constitutional authorities, the minister said.

Earlier, the minister laid the foundation stone for construction of a new block to house the proposed Traffic Control Unit among other facilities.
The new block would be constructed by Public Works Department (PWD) at an estimated cost of Rs 48 lakh, an official spokesman said.
The spokesman said the minister also heard the demands of SMGD employees and assured to look into it.