GUWAHATI, May 14 - Due to lack of proper monitoring system at Khanapara MV checkpoint, the District Transport Officer of Kamrup could not detect trucks carrying excess load of coal and limestone coming from Meghalaya, a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India stated.
This laxity deprived the State Government from revenue earnings of approximately Rs 358.08 crore, the CAG report for the year-ended March 31, 2016, which was tabled in the recently-concluded special session of the Assam Assembly, stated.
Had the Transport Department installed a mechanism of cross-verification with departments concerned of other adjoining States and maintained records relating to the number of overloaded trucks carrying minerals through two other checkgates of Meghalaya and entering Assam, the State Government could have earned much more revenue.
The Supreme Court had in September 2005 ruled that trucks having maximum gross vehicle weight of 16.2 tonnes are permitted to carry payload of nine tonnes. In view of the adverse impact posed by overloading, the apex court had directed all the State governments to ensure that overloaded vehicles, once detected, should not be allowed to continue with excess load and fines should be imposed.
Verification of records of one checkgate of the Directorate of Mineral Resources at Umling in Meghalaya (exit checkgate) revealed that 14,68,940 commercial trucks carried 6,42,906 MT of coal and limestone beyond the permissible limits, during the period from 2010-11 to 2014-15 from Meghalaya and passed through the Khanapara MV checkpoint and then entered Assam.
On test check, the audit team collected the registration numbers of some trucks carrying excess load of coal and limestone from Umling DMR checkgate of Meghalaya, but could not cross-check the same with records of MV checkpoint of Khanapara as the DTO, Kamrup (Enforcement) stated that the MV checkpoint did not maintain any records relating to overloaded trucks carrying minerals from Meghalaya, the CAG report said.
Section 113 of the MV Act empowers the State Government to prescribe the maximum weight to be carried by transport vehicles. Also, Section 114 provides that vehicles suspected to be carrying more than the authorised weight can be weighed by a weighing device.
Whoever drives an overloaded vehicle invites punitive action, with a minimum fine of Rs 2,000 per vehicle and an additional amount of Rs 1,000 per MT of excess load.
