The Hindu : New Delhi News : CAG: one lakh vehicles plied in 2006-07 sans valid papers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

CAG: one lakh vehicles plied in 2006-07 sans valid papers

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Transport Department failed to realise more than Rs.32 crore as charges for mandatory fitness checking for renewal of registration of commercial vehicles during 2006-07. It also put the lives of the citizens in danger with nearly one lakh vehicles plying without valid fitness certificates.

According to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year ending March 31, 2007, that was tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Monday, as many as 1,63,081 commercial vehicles – including public service vehicle, goods carriage, an educational institution’s bus or a private service vehicle — were due for fitness checking in 2007. These vehicles had been registered with the Transport Department in 2005. Out of these commercial vehicles, only 63,731 got their fitness checked, while the remaining 99,350 continued plying on Delhi roads without valid certificates.

Of the 99,350, the highest number was that of heavy goods vehicles (50,112), while the lowest number was that of medium passenger vehicles (1,141). The unchecked vehicles also included 1,529 ambulances and 3,012 taxis. As many as 26,154 light goods vehicles and 13,382 high passenger vehicles also did not get their fitness/ registration certificates renewed.

As per rules, the vehicles should get their fitness checked every two year. A vehicles registration is considered invalid if the vehicle does not go through the mandatory fitness test. The renewal of registration/ fitness certificate is done after payment of road tax, registration fee and fee for fitness certificate. In case of default, 100 per cent of road tax should be levied on the defaulters, the rules say. Also, an additional charge of Rs. 20 a day should also be levied for delay in renewal of fitness certificate.

Thus, the total revenue loss for the year 2006-2007 due to non-renewal of registration transport vehicles stood at Rs. 32.76 crore.

The CAG said the Transport Department did not have any mechanism to verify the whereabouts of the motor vehicles to detect the vehicles whose fitness/ registration certificates had expired and which had not been renewed. The report said the Department failed to take any action to enforce the mandatory provisions of the Delhi Motor Vehicle Taxation Act, 1962, and recover the dues. “This also exposed the citizens of Delhi to the dangers due to commercial vehicles plying on the streets of Delhi without valid certificates,” the report said. While the CAG had pointed out the shortcoming to the Department and the Delhi Government between May and June last year, no reply had been received till as late as December 2007.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi