By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 23: Owing to the failure in enforcing compliance of the guidelines under contract agreement for establishment of integrated gate-cum-weighbridges coupled with the absence of monitoring on the functioning of the weighbridges have cost the state crores of rupees.
The Comptroller and General of India (CAG) report has revealed that the aforementioned conditions have resulted in non-realisation of Rs 23.75 crore.
The CAG has found the state’s Transport department not exercising due diligence in selection of licencees for weighbridges, ensure functioning of all the weighbridges and also failed to realise the annual fees on time. This, it said, has defeated the objective of setting up the weighbridges to detect and prevent overloading by goods transport vehicles.
The CAG audit noted that out of the 13 weighbridges approved for 13 locations by the department, only eight were operational, and further scrutiny of records revealed that seven out of the eight operational weighbridges were observed to have outstanding dues of annual fees.
The department neither took over the weighbridges nor took steps to recover the outstanding annual fee from the licencees, resulting in non realisation of annual fee amounting to Rs 9.49 crore, the audit report said.
It pointed out that four other weighbridges — Wageasi, North Garo Hills, Ratacherra, East Jaintia Hills, Tikkrikilla, West Garo Hills, and Masighat, South Garo Hills — were yet to be made operational as on January 2023, even after 10-11 months of signing the agreement albeit the weighbridges were required to be made operational within three months of signing the agreement. “Despite breach of agreement by these three licencees, the Transport department neither terminated their contracts nor blacklisted them, as provided in the agreement, nor did it take steps to allot the weighbridges to the next higher bidder. The inaction of the Transport department resulted in non-realisation of annual fees amounting to 10.13 crore,” the report said.
The CAG also observed that the failure of the department in taking timely action to execute the agreement with the successful bidder led to potential loss of revenue of Rs 1.69 core from unrealised annual fee and that there was a loss of revenue of 2.44 crore due to under reporting of vehicles.
“Apart from loss of government revenue, the under-reporting of trucks passing through these weighment bridges indicated that the Transport department failed to monitor the movement of overloaded trucks, thus defeating the very purpose of setting them up. Reason for the same is yet to be received from the CoT (Commissioner of Transport), though called for in April 2022,” the report said.
According to relevant rules, each weighbridge including private weighbridges permitted by the government is to be supervised by an Enforcement Inspector who will check and ensure that no vehicle carries weight above the permissible limits as fixed by the competent authority under the relevant law made from time to time. Contravention of these limits will attract penalty as provided in Section 194 of the Motor Vehicles Act. “However, audit did not find any record to evidence that each of the two weighbridges had regularly been supervised by an Enforcement Inspector,” it added.
The CAG report pointed out that failure of the CoT to ensure regular monitoring of the two weighbridges encouraged the licencees to under-report the quantum of trucks passing through the weighbridges, which remained undetected and ultimately resulted in loss of weighment fee amounting to Rs 2.44 crore.
The CAG report was tabled in the Assembly on Friday.