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Chandigarh: Fresh details obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act have revealed that Punjab legislators are setting new benchmarks in claiming travelling and daily allowances (TA/DA), raising questions over the use of official resources and reimbursement norms.

According to RTI data, when MLAs attend Vidhan Sabha committee meetings or official events, many travel in their private vehicles, for which they claim fuel and lodging expenses. At the same time, the government vehicles allotted to them are deployed separately as security escorts, trailing behind their private cars. The cost of running these government vehicles — including fuel and maintenance — is borne independently by the Transport Department, effectively resulting in a double expenditure from the state exchequer.

Top Allowance Claimants Over Three Years

The RTI figures show that between 2022-23 and 2024-25, Sukhwinder Singh, a Congress MLA, topped the list of allowance claimants, drawing ₹15.17 lakh as TA/DA alone.

He was followed by:

• Amit Rattan Kotfatta (AAP) – ₹10.64 lakh

• Amolak Singh – ₹10.28 lakh

• Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa – ₹10.08 lakh

• Nachhatar Pal – ₹7.80 lakh

Public Action Committee leader Dr Amandeep Singh Bains alleged that, in practice, many MLAs use only their official vehicles to attend meetings, but still submit claims for private vehicle usage. He demanded a thorough investigation into what he termed a “misuse of allowances and public funds”.

MLAs Who Claimed Nothing

In sharp contrast, Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh and his son Rana Inder Singh did not claim any TA/DA over the last three years. Other legislators among the lowest claimants include BJP’s Ashwani Kumar Sharma, Gurlal Ghanour, Manpreet Singh Ayali and Congress MLA Pargat Singh. The revelations have sparked renewed debate over transparency, accountability and the need to rationalise allowance rules for public representatives, especially at a time when the state is grappling with fiscal stress.