NHAI to file FIR against DGSCL for causing revenue loss
The National Highways Authority of India is likely to file an FIR against the operator of Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, DGSCL, for underreporting traffic at the 32-lane toll plaza, owing to which the Authority has lost crores of revenue.
About the toll-plaza
The 32-lane toll plaza, located at Delhi-Haryana Border, is said to be the biggest toll plaza in South Asia and the second biggest in the Asia. The toll plaza is located on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, a 28 km-long access-controlled toll expressway connecting Delhi and Gurgaon, which is a part of the Golden Quadrilateral project. Vehicle users traveling in this route have to pay a toll for using the expressway that is collected at three points.
How did the issue come to light?
KPMG’s weeklong traffic study in July at the Gurgaon toll expressway had revealed that the toll operator had underreported at least 79,237 passenger car units (PCUs) daily. Following this, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had suspended tolling for over a month.
What does contract say?
The toll road operates on a revenue-sharing contract, according to which, the revenue collected through toll charges by vehicles plying in that route, beyond 1.3 lakh PCUs in a day, should be shared equally between both the authorities- the NHAI and DGSCL.
Last week the ministry forwarded the details of the expressway project to the Central Vigilance Commission to investigate the role of stakeholders and see if the case should be handed over to the CBI.
Revenue loss to NHAI
The underreporting of vehicle numbers by DGSCL has caused a huge loss of over Rs 20 crore revenue to the highway authority during the period of August 2012 to July 2013. However, the number is just an approximation while calculating the actual figure would be difficult. According to an estimate, NHAI has lost about Rs 24 crore in 10 months.
Road ministry asks NHAI to lodge FIR
After the issue came into light, the Road transport and highways ministry asked the NHAI to file an FIR against the operator of Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, DGSCL, after the Authority’s study found underreporting of traffic at the 32-lane toll plaza.
According to sources, during a weekly meeting held on Monday, the highways secretary Vijay Chhibber had questioned the NHAI officials as why an FIR had not been filed by the Authority. As there is prima-facie evidence of gross revenue leakage, it is necessary to lodge an FIR.
Road Transport Secretary Vijay Chhibber directed the NHAI to take necessary actions against the concessionaire and stop it from the alleged misappropriation of funds/toll collection. He also had mentioned that termination of this project was the only option left before NHAI to protect public interest and put an end to the misery of the road users at the toll plazas.
The ministry had referred the project to the Chief Vigilance Commission and Enforcement Directorate last week. It has sought the authorities to explore the alleged financial fraud by the concessionaire, connivance of IDFC and public sector banks in the debt restructuring and an improper toll accounting by DSC.
What is the concessionaire’s stand?
On the flipside, DGSCL has alleged that the NHAI has made false allegations with malafide intent. The company claimed that the procedure followed by the NHAI is not reliable since the comparative data on traffic at the toll plaza is merely based on figures provided by DGSCL and manual counting by an agency outsourced by KPMG. The firm also asked that both NHAI and KPMG have to first admit that they are taking full responsibility of the data provided in the report so that once their allegations are proved false, they will be held liable for all the damages caused to DGSCL.
