Kathmandu. KATHMANDU — The Ministry of Home Affairs has reached the final phase of procurement of vehicles required for the upcoming elections to the House of Representatives in a peaceful, fear-free and free environment.

According to the Home Minister’s Secretariat, the process of purchasing vehicles has been expedited after receiving permission from the Ministry of Finance. The procurement process has reached the final stage after the Ministry of Finance provided resources to replace the essential vehicles that were completely destroyed during the Jenji agitation.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, all the vehicles will be purchased before the elections so that there is no shortage of vehicles required for creating an environment for election environment and security. The Ministry of Finance has approved Rs 351.1 million for the purchase of 156 vehicles for Nepal Police through the regular budget. According to the ministry, additional source permission of Rs 453 million has been obtained to purchase additional 106 vehicles.

Nepal Police is preparing to purchase vehicles worth Rs 80.41 crore in the current fiscal year. Among the 156 vehicles, 75 are for regular patrolling, one prisoner van, 28 office-purpose vehicles, 41 electric vehicles and 10 escort pick-up vans.

Likewise, the Ministry of Finance has given permission to purchase a total of 59 vehicles for the Armed Police Force. Three disaster rescue vehicles, 50 bolero pick-up vans, three riot control trucks and two ambulances were included in the trucks.

Similarly, the Ministry has received permission to purchase six four-wheelers for the National Investigation Department. A total of 465 offices of Nepal Police across the country were damaged during the Genji agitation but now 449 offices have been reopened after repairs. According to the Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division of the Ministry, the remaining 16 offices are also in the final stage of repair and will come into operation soon. A total of 571 different types of police vehicles were damaged in the incident.

According to the Home Ministry, 84 offices of the Armed Police Force (APF) were damaged and 61 vehicles were completely torched during the agitation. Two buildings under the National Investigation Department and three buildings of the district offices were also damaged. Similarly, 11 four-wheelers and 30 motorcycles were damaged in the incident. According to the Division, the estimated cost of the loss is around Rs 8.90 crore.