The audit report of Uttarakhand Transport Corporation has also revealed a scam of Rs 1.32 crore in the auction of scrap buses. According to the report of the Accountant General’s Office, a huge difference has been detected in the amount of auction of buses in Dehradun, Nainital and Tanakpur divisions during the year 2020 to 2023. The corporation showed the auction of buses as Rs 7.09 crore, whereas in the TCS return the price was shown as Rs 8.42 crore. It was told that the Transport Corporation could not give any concrete answer to this. In the audit report, objection has also been raised on the amount of Rs 29.54 crore kept by the Transport Corporation in a private bank.
According to the Accountant General’s Office, as per the orders of the Finance Section of Uttarakhand Government, all the undertakings and corporations of the state government have to deposit their funds in public and nationalized banks, but out of 34 accounts of the corporation, eight accounts are being operated in private banks. Are. The investigation also found that the corporation did not take any steps to recover its money. Rs 25.76 crore is pending for payment of buses for Lok Sabha elections-2019, Assembly elections-2022 and public welfare schemes run by the government, but the Transport Corporation has not made any efforts for this.
In the investigation, allegations have also been made of operating contracted buses with departmental connivance. It was told that the Transport Corporation paid Rs 2.43 lakh for the Fastag of the Volvo bus which was not operated by the Transport Corporation. Many such financial irregularities have been detected in the audit investigation report.
No monitoring of GPS-cameras
According to the audit report, till March 2023, a total of 1243 buses (919 Transport Corporation’s own and 324 contracted) were operating in the Transport Corporation. For the safety of passengers and monitoring of buses, cameras and GPS were to be installed in all the buses, the tender for which was given to a contractor. Investigation found that the Transport Corporation did not make any arrangement to monitor the buses. Apart from the Volvo buses, cameras in all other buses were broken and GPS were also switched off.
Collusion found in e-tender also
According to the audit report, collusion with contractors has also been exposed in the e-tender process of the Transport Corporation. During this period, 12 e-tenders were examined and it was found that six of these e-tenders were filed from the same computer. The audit team made this revelation on the basis of examining the IP address of the computer.
Question on the tender of contracted dhabas
In the audit report, questions have been raised on the contracts of dhabas contracted by the Transport Corporation for stopping buses. It is alleged that the tender was put by someone else while the contract was given to someone else. The corporation earned an income of Rs 4.11 crore from the contracted dhabas in the year 2022-23, but the corporation could not provide information about other facilities related to the contracted firm. Let us tell you that in this case, vigilance investigation is also going on against the corporation officials.
Sample failed, still being used
Financial irregularities and irregularities have also come to light regarding samples of equipment purchased for buses in the workshops of the Transport Corporation. According to the audit report, the equipment installed in the buses were used despite the samples failing the testing agency. Between November 2021 and March 2023, 43 samples were sent to CIRT Pune for testing, out of which four samples failed. Even before the investigation report came, this equipment worth Rs 8.55 lakh was purchased and later a deduction of Rs 7.80 lakh was paid to the firm.
Rs 38 lakh lost due to buses running without permit
Transport Corporation’s contracted buses are running without permits. The investigation revealed seven such cases in which a case was filed in the court due to the accident and the Transport Corporation had to pay a fine of Rs 37.99 lakh. All these accidents occurred in buses which did not have permits. Not only this, questions have also been raised on the proper arrangement for insurance in contracted buses.
