Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Doubts raised over actual daily earnings

— Photo: S. James.

MONEY MATTERS: A view of the toll gate, which leads to Madurai-Tirumangalam stretch of Ring Road.

MADURAI: Close on the heels of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption police raids on the toll gates situated on the Ring Road here, several questions on the actual net earnings are making rounds among officials.

The 27-km stretch Ring Road was formed keeping in mind the burgeoning vehicular movement within the city limits. Hundreds of heavy vehicles and private cars and buses use the ring road without entering the city every day.

It was thrown open to public in November 1999 with Rs.75 crore World Bank funds. Initially, the toll gates collected a little over Rs.1 lakh daily. Every November, the fee collected was revised up to 10 per cent. Though the authorities had computerised system of issuing tickets since its inception to the vehicles using the Ring Road, for reasons not known the system was terminated. In its place, issuance of tickets in physical form was introduced, which led to alleged corruption and suppression of earnings.

According to informed sources, a private bank was entrusted with the collection of toll money daily – which was in the range of Rs 2.90 lakh - and the ex-servicemen were manning the gates round-the-clock in shift system. In all, about 60 to 70 men were deployed on all the five toll gates.

The DVAC police received complaints that some staff at the toll gates allegedly indulged in corruption. Though they collected money, they (staff) did not issue tickets. In some other cases, instead of issuing tickets to the vehicle users, the staff permitted them to go after taking in half the value from them.

For instance, heavy vehicles which had to take a fifty rupee ticket used the Ring Road after bribing the staff by giving Rs.20 or Rs.25, it had come to light. The simultaneous raids unravelled unaccounted cash to the tune of over Rs.20,000 from all the five toll gates, a senior officer said.

“We are still in the process of investigating,” the officer added.

An official of the Corporation of Madurai said that during a search conducted by them some months ago, they had detected financial irregularities. Five persons who were placed under suspension after inquiry approached the court and the case is pending. Corporation should be entrusted with the task of collection and management of the toll gates which would provide the much needed transparency, he added.

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