Everybody has the solution

April 13: The civic administration has failed to ideate on alternative sources of income for the cash-trapped municipal corporation. Perhaps...

April 13: The civic administration has failed to ideate on alternative sources of income for the cash-trapped municipal corporation. Perhaps there aren8217;t any left. The exchequer cannot be milked any further, it concedes, veering around to the inevitable conclusion that enhancing collection from available sources is the best alternative.

In its collective wisdom, it has therefore decided to squeeze octroi collection to the maximum, assisted by technology and the stick to stymie wily octroi officials who view the daily collection as an alternative source of personal income. There is only one little snag 8211; though for once the administration, corporators and the unions are willing, the resolve appears very weak. Octroi, levied on goods transported in and out of Mumbai, is the corporation8217;s biggest revenue-earner, accounting for 70 per cent of income. However, a good 20 per cent is pocketed by octroi officials in connivance with the staff at the check nakas as well as transporters, who are constantly on thelookout for diversions in the law. The network is as intricate as it is effective, penetrating all levels from the assessors, the staff to security guards at the four check nakas 8211; at Dahisar, Mulund, the Eastern Express Highway and the Panvel-Mumbai Highway. Instructions are issued down the line, with the staff winking at irregularities with impunity.Though in actual terms, collection increases annually, the percentage by which it goes up does not keep pace with mounting expenditure. Last year, for instance, the target had to be lowered to Rs 1,017 crore from Rs 1,286.10 crore.

While the administration accuses employees of not being deligent enough, the unions blame recession in the city8217;s construction industry! Sharad Rao, president of the Municipal Mazdoor Union, which represents three quarters of the civic workforce, points an accusing finger at the administration, saying: 8220;They spend money on providing jeeps and mobile phones to the top brass and then blame Class-III workers for the deficit.8221;

Hesays corrupt senior officials in the department have not been transferred for several years, adding that the post of assistant assessor and collector has been vacant for a whole year. Octroi evasion makes good grist for debates in the corporation. Apparently, it is not serious enought to prod the administration into any real action. Upgrading facilities at the four check nakas was mooted three years ago, but while officials and corporators exercise their lungs, check naka staff allow crores of rupees to be spirited away as transporters devise innovative ways to beat the system.

Except for computerisation of the Dahisar check naka which has not brought the expected results the administration has yet to make the quantum leap from thought to action for the other three check posts.

This year, the corporation has promised to convert the 40-tonne mechanical weigh-bridges at the four nakas into 60-tonne, electronic weigh-bridges. This, they reason, would speed up and enhance octroi collection. Of course, it isearly days yet and the corporation8217;s resolve can only be assessed with the passage of time.

Bharatiya Janata Party corporator Rajesh Sharma has periodically raised the issue of octroi evasion in the House over the last two years. But, he says, no one wants to listen. 8220;If attention is paid to checking corruption at the nakas, the administration can recover an additional Rs 200 crore every year.8221;

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Last month, Sharma cited examples of the menace, even pinpointing some of the vehicles which sidestep the tax. He said four to five Tata Sumos vehicles drive past the nakas every morning at a particular time without being stopped by officials.

At the Dahisar naka, these vehicles have been transporting gold and silver apart from gutkha and plastic granules, he says. 8220;Though the control room has been informed on numerous occasions, no one has been arrested or punished so far,8221; Sharma points out.

Employees at the nakas at every level, from the security guards to the assesor, are involved, he aleges, addingthat the guards are told by their superiors whom to check and whom to let off the hook. Two months ago, corporators had had agreed to srping surprise visits on the nakas in groups to check security arrangements. But they have shown no initiative since, he says. The checkposts are devoid of vigilance officers at night, which is the best time to evade octroi, he points out.

Small savings is another source to tap for income, and when every paise counts, the administration should be stingy while sanctioning overtime allowances. However, that may be an outrageous suggestion, considering that Rs 100 crore was distributed to diligent staff members, especially peons, who probably thought more could be accomplished after hours than in the stipulated working day. Efficiency has never been a strength of the unweildly workforce and being made accountable is definitely anathema to them.

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Sums up an official in the Accounts Department: 8220;Some of the peons start work only after working hours and make money for workinglate every day.8221; But, the official adds, senior officials must take this problem seriously. Brave words. But who needs a gadfly to disturb the all-pervasive lethargy and pronounce judgement on the staff of the country8217;s most prestigious civic corporation?