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Audit criticises laxity of NDMC's transport wing

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI JUNE 18. Laxity on part of its Transport Department has resulted in huge monetary losses to the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) besides affecting its work due to shortage of vehicles.

For instance, take the case of auction of condemned vehicles. Out of 56 vehicles condemned for auction in May/June 1997, only nine vehicles were actually auctioned in 1997 at a cost of Rs.12.49 lakhs as against the reserve price of Rs.12.24 lakhs, observes the NDMC's latest annual audit report.

``For reasons not on record, 47 vehicles valued at Rs.52.10 lakhs were not auctioned. These vehicles were auctioned only in September 2000 by which time their condition had further deteriorated affecting their resale value adversely and causing loss to the Council.''

Similarly, the Supreme Court had debarred the plying of 15 year old commercial vehicles in Delhi only. There was no bar on running of these vehicles in other States.

Therefore, the decision to auction the vehicles without registration papers was not justified.The auction of vehicles as scrap without registration papers resulted in loss of over Rs.32 lakhs, the audit report stated.

Similarly, the NDMC purchased a truck chassis in March 1994 at a cost of Rs.3.97 lakhs for fabrication of a water tanker. However, the Department failed to utilise this chassis for the last eight years though the Department had purchased 10 new water tankers from the same firm during 196-97 at a cost of Rs.72.92 lakhs. The chassis was still lying in Okhla workshop open to vagaries of the weather.

``Since this chassis did not meet the latest norms of the State Transport Authority as directed by the Supreme Court, it could not be used for any purpose in the city, there was no possibility of its gainful utilisation in future also. Thus, due to the Department's failure to utilise the chassis, the expenditure of Rs.4 lakhs on its purchase was rendered infructuous.''

The audit report points out another glaring anomaly in the abnormal amount of time taken in repairing even petty faults in its vehicles despite the fact that the Council has two full- fledged auto workshops at Okhla and Laxmi Bai Nagar to undertake regular repairs and day-to-day maintenance of its vehicles.

``A test check of about 206 vehicles received from various Departments in these workshops for repairs during March 1998 to December 2000 revealed that while in 160 cases the workshops took two to 375 days to attend to petty and minor repairs like tyre puncture, tyre change, brake defect, starting problem and battery defects. In 45 cases, the vehicles remained in the workshops for 22 to 553 days for other repairs like battery terminal and clutch defects, jet pump repairs, body repairs, engine repairs and overhauling.''

The report also made certain negative observations like there was no norms or time schedule for fixing different types of repairs and also there was serious lack of proper control and monitoring of the entire functioning of the workshops. The abnormal detention of vehicles in workshops depleted the availability of service vehicles due to which the Council had to hire private vehicles at considerable extra cost. Besides, this also resulted in payment of unproductive idle wages to the drivers.

For instance, a mini bus was sent to Okhla workshop for repairs in November 1996. However, the estimate for its repairs amounting to Rs.2 lakhs was prepared only in October 1999, after a delay of three years. But by that time the vehicle's condition had deteriorated so much that it had to be condemned prematurely after covering only about 90,000 kms., thus causing avoidable loss to the Council.

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