SHILLONG: Failure of the Transport Department check posts to detect overloading to the extent of 6,59,099 metric tons has lead to a non-imposition of fine and additional fine amounting to Rs 118.50 crore.
According to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, audit of the three departmental check posts at Umkiang in Jaintia Hills and Athiabari and Dainadubi in East Garo Hills, for the period April 2009 to March 2011 revealed that 2,62,954 trucks carrying a total of 30,25,685 metric tons of coal had passed through the check posts.
“Since the maximum permissible load was 9 MT per truck, this implied that 6,59,099 MT of coal was carried in excess of the permissible load limit by these trucks,” the report said, adding that the check posts at these three locations had failed to detect or apprehend these overloaded trucks as a consequence of which fine and additional fine under Section 194 (i) of the Motor Vehicles Act amounting to Rs 118.50 crore was not collected.
The reports further stated that the Directorate of Mineral Resources (DMR) also has check posts at these three places whose responsibility is to levy and collect royalty and additional royalty on coal being transported through these check posts.
“The fact that the state of Meghalaya has, over the years, been deprived of a huge amount of revenue owing to the chronic inability of the Transport department check posts to detect overloading suggests that there are serious systematic and other issues which the department inexplicably, is yet to identify and address,” the CAG report stated.
Meanwhile, the CAG also revealed that the Enforcement Branch of the Transport department has failed to levy additional fines of atleast Rs 12.59 lakh on 1,259 trucks carrying loads in excess of the permissible limit. A test check of the receipt books carried out in May and June 2012 of the Enforcement Branch of the Commissioner of Transport revealed that the branch has intercepted 1,259 trucks throughout the State during April 2010 to March 2012 carrying load in excess of the maximum legal permissible load of 9 MT per truck and on whom, the branch levied fines totaling 25.18 lakh at Rs 2000 per truck.
The enforcement however, neither recorded the quantity of excess load carried by each truck nor levied the additional fine of Rs 1000 per MT per truck as prescribed under section 194 (i) of the Motor Vehicles Act.
“This resulted in a minimum short levy of additional fine of Rs 12.59 lakh calculated at the rate of 1 MT of excess load per truck and the actual non-realization of the additional fine would be higher if the exact quanta of excess load carried by these trucks could be established.
The CAG has recommended that the Transport department initiate action against the concerned officials of the Enforcement Branch for dereliction of duty and causing loss to the State exchequer on this account.
It was informed that the matter was reported to the department in April 2011 and June 2012 and the reply was awaited till compilation of this report in March 2013.