Five years after it was first mooted,the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is in the final stages of floating tenders to instal vehicle scanners at octroi check posts in the city in order to curb large-scale octroi evasion. Despite fears of further traffic congestion at check posts owing to the requirement of truck drivers to alight the vehicle before it is scanned,the civic body is going ahead with the acquisition and plans to float the tenders in the first week of September. While on an average about 200 trucks pass a single octroi counter an hour,the number will come down to 100 when the scanners are installed. But BMC is confident that the octroi revenue will jump by at least 15 per cent once the scanners are used. Octroi is the single largest source of revenue for the civic body with the collection target being Rs 7000 crore for the current fiscal. An official from the BMC assessment and collection department said as a lot of time was lost because they were unsure about the ill-effects of radiation from the scanners,a joint panel comprising an IIT professor,an official from the Atomic Energy Resources Board and civic officials will be set up to technically evaluate every bid received by the civic agency. There are around six scanning technologies such as X-ray,gamma ray and magnetic ray. The panel will shortlist machines that are effective and safe, said the official. While the earlier proposal was to buy the machines,the BMC will now opt for a build-operate-transfer system owing to the high cost of machines. The scanner company will be paid on a per transaction basis depending on the number of vehicles scanned. Maintenance cost will be included in this amount. Some technologies such as X-ray scanning can be used without the driver having to alight the vehicle but as per AERB rules,humans should not be exposed to radiation unless prescribed by a doctor. Traffic congestion continues to be a concern but there is no other option, said the official. Trucks carrying all items other than construction material and foodgrains will be scanned. As for foodgrain carrying trucks,a random sample of 10 per cent will be scanned. A total of 10 machines will be used,two each at Mankhurd-Vashi Naka,Eastern Express Highway Naka and Dahisar Naka and one each at LBS Naka and Airoli Naka. Two mobile scanners will be used as per requirement, said the official.
