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The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has highlighted gaps in the management of public transport infrastructure by the Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (DTIDC).
Pollution continues
This performance audit on functioning of Revenue and Social and Economic Sectors (Pubic Sector Undertakings) relating to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi covers the five-year period from 2013-2014 to 2017-2018. The audit underlined the slow progress of upgradation projects of Inter-State Bus Terminals (ISBTs) and development of new terminals.
“Even after the lapse of more than 20 years of the Supreme Court directions to establish ISBTs at North and South West entry points of Delhi, ISBTs at Dwarka and Narela could not be established. The objective of reducing air pollution in Delhi by establishing these two ISBTs could not be achieved,” the CAG said.
Because of this delay, inter-state buses from Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh continue to ply to and from ISBTs at Sarai Kale Khan and Kashmere Gate, on a daily trip basis, the report noted.
“Also, even after a passage of more than five years after being assigned the responsibility of managing the Bus Queue Shelters, DTIDC failed to construct any new Bus Queue Shelter...Due to failure of DTIDC to provide work fronts timely, the upgradation work of ISBT Kashmere Gate could not be completed even after more than eight years of stipulated completion date, resulting in raising of claims of ₹ 113.80 crore by contractor and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS),” the report said.
On the revenue sector the CAG said, “Test check of the records of 70 units of the Department of Trade and Taxes, State Excise, Transport and Revenue conducted during the year 2017-2018 revealed under assessment/short levy/loss of revenue and other irregularities involving ₹1,701.14 crore in 500 cases. During the course of the year, the concerned Departments accepted under assessment and other deficiencies of ₹390.39 crore,”
Cases pile up
“The data on cases added and disposed shows an increasing trend of cases requiring disposal with each passing year during 2014-2015 to 2016-2017. From 31,726 cases pending disposal as on 31 March 2015, the pendency of cases has increased to 40,120 as on March 31, 2017, with the demand amount pending adjudication increasing from ₹4,944 crore to ₹10,194 crore.”
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