State earns more than Rs 461 crore through parking fees collection
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s initiative of taking full government control of the truck terminuses at international borders through the state Transport department has proved to be a game changer with the state’s revenue surpassing Rs 461 crore through collection of parking fees in 22 months. The department has collected over Rs 277 crore in the recently-concluded financial year 2023-24 from the truck terminuses at international borders — much higher than the 2022-23 fiscal, (inception from June 6, 2022) when the collection was over Rs 184.30 crore.
Interestingly, in the year 2022-23, it was for the first time when the total revenue collection of the state Transport department had surpassed the Budget estimate of collection.
The total earning of the Transport department has climbed upto Rs 4,040 crore in the year 2023-24 which is much higher than the previous fiscal’s collection of Rs 3392 crore. The revenue earned for the recently-concluded fiscal has well surpassed the Budget estimate of Rs 3,583.90 crore.
In the year 2010-11 before the Trinamool Congress government came to power, the collection was Rs 798.11 crore against the Budget estimate of collection being Rs 890.12 crore. “Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee returns the entire revenue earned by the department to the common people’s development. Our proactive measures have encouraged people to pay taxes in time,” state Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty said.
There are six international check posts (ICP) at these truck terminuses — namely Petrapole, Ghojadanga in North 24-Parganas, Mahadipur in Malda, Hili in South Dinajpur, Changrabandha in Cooch Behar and Fulbari in Jalpaiguri. The Petrapole ICP started functioning from June 2022 while the one at Ghojadanga started in July. The four other ICPs in North Bengal became operational from September. The highest collection amounting to over Rs 135 crore has come from Petrapole.
It was on February 8, 2022 when the state Transport department had notified that no parking area can be used on commercial basis on any land within 15 km from the zero point of the international borders across the state without prior permission of the department or specifically ordered by the District Magistrate for a temporary period, after taking necessary concurrence of the Transport department. Other government departments/ agencies/ local bodies will restrain themselves from letting out parking space without prior approval of the Transport department.
Banerjee while chairing an administrative review meeting in the last week of January 2022 expressed her concern over some people taking money from the truck terminals functioning along the border. She had made it clear that she wanted the revenue to go to the government exchequer and not be distributed among some individuals. She had directed the Transport department to take control of the terminals and accordingly action was taken.
