NHAI vehicles found on wrong side of rule book

Even after promise of practicing zero tolerance policy against errant officials, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government is yet to act upon blatant violation of existing government rules in the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

During the 10 years of UPA regime, the premier road making agency did not award any major viable project to meet the 20-km-per day challenge and now it has put aside Modi’s direction on austerity measures by not practising the principle of ‘less government, more governance’. The NHAI officials are still abusing government facilities, one among them being the misuse of government vehicles.

The staff car rules prescribes that conveyance facilities are extended only to officers of the rank of a joint secretary or above for picking and dropping from the residence to office and back. 

However, as per the existing practice in NHAI, vehicles are attached full time to general managers, who are equivalent to directors in central ministries.

In a Millennium Post  investigation misuse of vehicles and its deployment in NHAI by forming caucus has come to light. A typical kind of nexus is prevalent in the vehicle deployment as in many cases the users themselves are the ghost owners of the vehicles, which may be registered in the name of their kith and kin. The contractual computer operators and personal staff also own vehicles and have attached them with the officers in a practice of quid pro quo. 

Also, Lok Sabha MP N Dennis had alleged that officers in NHAI are misusing vehicles by hiring through private parties that are not on their panel but through their own means. The vehicles are in the name of their relatives or personal staff.

The documents that are in possession of Millennium Post reveal that about 200 vehicles, including about 60 in MoRTH ministry itself, have been deployed incurring an expenditure of around Rs 3 crore annually. Surprisingly, the rental on each of the vehicle deployed for official purposes exceeds a normal prescribed limit of mileage run though most of the officers have been accommodated in the vicinity of its headquarters’ office under lease.

After the reading of logbooks of the vehicles, it has been found that the km entry against almost every vehicle in the logbook crosses the prescribed limit. It’s the case of HQs, a similar trend was also seen at about 150 other field offices of NHAI across the country.

While talking to Millennium Post, Jogendra Kumar (assistant manager, NHAI), admitted that vehicles 

are being provided to general managers round the clock. Kumar also said that since logbooks come to his table after being ‘signed’ by the officer availing the vehicle, Kumar clears them without crosschecking the mentioned distance in the book.

As per DoPT office memorandum dated 22 February 2010, utilisation of facilities, including vehicles, etc by the central ministries from PSUs has been barred and the ceiling of consumption of petrol/diesel cars has also been fixed at a reasonable level. However, these rules are not being followed by NHAI.

The issue of misuse of  vehicles has reached the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and questions have been raised in the Lok Sabha on misuse of vehicles by NHAI officials (Question no 3687 on 17 December 2012).

After noticing irregularities and shortcoming in the existing system, NHAI’s chief vigilance officer (CVO) Aloke Prasad had also recommended centralisation of the vehicle hiring system. Bids were invited and the process was at its final stage when it was aborted on the recommendation of their chief general manager (admin) PC Grover.

CVO, when contacted by this paper, confirmed that the matter is under reference, adding that CGM (admin) is looking after the matter. The point to be noted is that the plea taken by the administration was that the user officers will face inconvenience by such arrangement and more importantly an additional financial burden of Rs 70 lakh per annum in terms of tax to the government has to be borne by the NHAI. Interestingly, the said CGM (admin) advising for illegal tax evasion was also in the dual charge of chief general manager (legal).