PAC of Meghalaya Assembly seeks ATR from Transport department for recovering revenue

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Meghalaya Assembly Wednesday directed the Transport department to submit its action taken a report (ATR) to recover revenue lost to the tune of Rs 152.56 crore within three months. Speaking to reporters after the meeting held here, PAC chairman Charles Pyngrope said the committee in its deliberation has taken serious note of the CAG report for the year ended March 31, 2017, which clearly indicated "lapses" in the Transport department leading to a revenue loss of Rs 152.56 crore.

He said one of the main reasons for such loss was due to the "non-performance" or the "ineffectiveness" of the officers concerned to take action on penalties and other taxes which could have raised the states exchequer.

Supplementing to this, member and Congress legislator from Rangsakona Zenith Sangma informed that there were 52 cases of revenue loss detected which include 22 relating to the short realisation of revenue amounting to Rs 49 crore and 23 are those relating to other irregularities amounting to Rs 101.80 crore. Stating that senior officials of the department who were summoned before the PAC have assured to recover the revenue loss from the different defaulters, Sangma said, "We have given the department three months time to submit its action taken the report."

The PAC has also directed the Transport department to ensure that the two weighbridges one at Umling in Ri Bhoi district and another at 7thMile in West Jaintia Hills district pay tax of Rs 7 crore each, which was not realised till today. Sangma also informed that the committee has suggested to the department to frame the agreement while leasing weighbridges in such a way that the lessee has to pay at least 50 per cent as the first instalment. Congress Mawsynram legislator Himalaya Shangpliang said the department was also asked to fix responsibility on those responsible for allowing overloaded trucks carrying limestones to ply which has resulted in a revenue loss of Rs 10.51 crore. He said that about 66,000 metric tonnes of limestones have been transported "without any accounts" from April 2015 to March 2016 while over 19,000 trucks were allowed to pass through the check gates "without proper documents including the weighment slips."