SHILLONG: KHADC CEM Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit has justified the decision to scrap the lease agreement with private lessee for operating the toll gates in the various forest ranges and beat offices of the Council.
“We are not satisfied with the performance of various private lessees who are operating the various forest range and beat offices. There are many lacunae over the way the private lessee are operating these toll gates of the Forest department,” Basaiawmoit said while replying to the cut motion during the Council Summer Session on Monday.
He said that the private lessee does not issue any receipts while collecting taxes which puts the image of the Council in bad light.
“We have the fear that the District Administration would close down these toll gates if they find out about the illegal collection which are going on,” KHADC CEM said.
While admitting that the revenue has drastically gone after the department have started the collection on its own, Basaiawmoit said that the EC is satisfied with this decision since the taxes are being collected after the issuing of the Transit Permit (TP).
Earlier, while moving the cut motion, Mawkynrew Congress MDC Banteidor Lyngdoh said that he has learnt that the EC has scrap the lease agreement with the private lessee to operate the toll gates which has led to the fall down in the revenue collection of the Council.
As per available information, Lyngdoh said that when the toll gates was lease to the private parties, the revenue collected from the toll gates at 14th miles, Ri-Bhoi would be around Rs 2.40 lakh annually.
“But now after the Council has taken over the toll gates, the revenue in the past three months is only Rs 9000,” Lyngdoh said.
