SHILLONG: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly has asked the Transport Department to submit an action taken report on recovering Rs 152.56-crore losses within three months.
PAC chairman Charles Pyngrope told reporters on Wednesday that the committee has taken “serious note” of a CAG report last year that “clearly indicated the lapses in the department”.
Pyngrope said one of the main reasons for the loss was “non-performance or ineffectiveness of officers concerned” who failed to collect taxes and penalties.
Zenith Sangma, a member of the committee and Rangsakona MLA, said there were 52 cases of revenue loss, including 22 relating to short realisation of revenue to the tune of Rs 49 crore and 23 other irregularities amounting to Rs 101.80 crore. The officers who were summoned by the committee assured that the losses would be recovered.
PAC also directed the department to ensure that the two weighbridges at Umling in Ri Bhoi District and 7th Mile in West Jaintia Hills pay tax of Rs 7 crore each, which was not realised till today.
The committee wants the department to frame an agreement while leasing weighbridges in such a way that the lessee has to pay at least 50 percent as the first instalment.
Mawsynram legislator Himalaya Shangpliang said the department was also asked to fix responsibility on those allowing overloaded trucks carrying limestone to ply which has resulted to revenue loss of Rs 10.51 crore.
He said about 66,000 metric tonnes of limestone have been transported without any accounts from April 2015 to March 2016 while over 19,000 trucks were allowed to pass through the check gates without proper documents, including the weighment slips.
