Govt dawdled, lost 300 cr in toll on ore lorries

After proposing a levy of Rs 500 on each lorry, PWD delayed collection for over 5 months

The Public Works Department (PWD) that was responsible for collecting the toll, woke up and began charging the levy on September 11 this year -- five and a half months after the toll of Rs 500 per trip was announced in the budget proposals. The collection should have been effective from April 1 when the financial year began.

For reasons known to it, the PWD sat on the proposals for five months before it jolted itself into action on the crucial budgetary decision to mop up additional resources meant for development of the road network in the State. Interestingly, it was during this period -- between April and July -- that the mining industry thrived.

The Government imposed a ban on ore export in July end, bringing the industry to a near standstill.

Had the PWD started the toll collection from April, it would have fetched about Rs 300 crore. The department managed to collect only about Rs 10 crore between September 11 and end of November. The toll is  imposed on 36 important routes, including 10 in Bellary district, in the State.

What is intriguing is that the PWD swung into action to collect the toll only after the Government banned iron ore export. “The toll collection was only an eyewash exercise by the Government, which had come under severe criticism on the illegal mining issue. The Government wanted to show that it was acting tough against the mining lobby, especially those from Bellary. But, in reality, the move had little impact on it due to the ban,” an officer told Deccan Herald on condition of anonymity.

The cash-strapped Government had decided to impose Rs 1,000 toll per trip in October 2009 to fund rehabilitation of families whose homes and livelihoods were destroyed by unprecedented floods in several north Karnataka districts. But, it shelved the plan, fearing the wrath of mining barons, chiefly the Reddy brothers of Bellary.

Miscalculation

The budget proposals had projected a toll on all goods transporting lorries weighing more than 16 tonnes, excluding machinery.

“Hence, it (the Government) had set a modest Rs 250 crore revenue target for the entire year. Later, the Government modified its plan and decided to impose the toll on all mining lorries, irrespective of tonnage. Had the Government modified its plan before the budget, the revenue target from the toll would have been Rs 800 crore,” sources said.

PWD Secretary N Lakshmanrao Pashwe explained the delay by citing technical problems in the implementation. “We didn’t have the mechanism to weigh lorries to find out their tonnage. The PWD has no weigh bridges. After prolonged discussions, the Finance department okayed the proposal to impose a flat toll of Rs 500 on all iron ore-carrying lorries, modifying the budgetary announcement,” he said.

Loss of revenue

* PWD began collecting toll on mining lorries after over five months
* The delay cost the Government Rs 400 cr in revenue earnings
* Collection began only after the Govt banned ore export
* PWD has collected only Rs 10 crore so far