MANGALORE: Maintenance and development of roads in Dakshina Kannada, which receives heavy rainfall, has become a cause for concern.

This can be gauged from the fact that a move to utilise fines collected by the Regional Transport Authority from overloaded lorries plying in the district figured in the two successive quarterly review meetings held under the Karnataka Development Programme.

While B. Nagaraj Shetty, district in-charge Minister, is the prime mover of this idea, the department officials beg to differ. "Fines collected from transport vehicles, including lorries carrying iron ore, are remitted to the department's account. The department in turn has no power to spend the same on any purpose," say officials.

The regional transport authorities in Mangalore and Puttur collected fines to the tune of Rs. 1 crore from owners of overloaded lorries during 2005-06. Taking note of the fact that most roads in the district are in bad shape, Mr. Shetty has been pushing for the utilisation of this money to initiate repair work in rural areas.

The officials on their part have forwarded a proposal in this regard to the Transport Commissioner.

No powers

Vijay Vikram, Joint Commissioner, Transport Department, says that his department merely collects revenue due to the Government, including those generated from fines, and has no powers to spend it. However, if the Government feels that revenue earned through fines for a specific offence should be utilised locally, including repair of roads as proposed by Mr. Shetty, it can take a policy decision in this regard.

Mr. Shetty has directed the secretaries of the Regional Transport Authority here and in Puttur to send a proposal to the Transport Commissioner.

Asserting that he will take up the matter at the Government level, Mr. Shetty says maintenance of roads cannot be ignored for want of funds.

"We must try and raise resources and ensure that roads in the district are in good condition," he says.

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