Author: Editorial
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: April 1, 2008
Where's the money collected for roads?
In what has all the makings of a major scandal,
if not a scam, the Union Government has been charging a road cess on petrol
and diesel but cannot account for the astronomical sums thus collected over
several years from the people. These have certainly not been used to improve
the road infrastructure in the country for which ostensible purpose the cess
was imposed. As exposed by a Pioneer investigation -- which will continue
-- the Union Government has no answer, at least one that is in the public
domain, about how the vast funds accumulated through the cess of Rs 2 for
each litre of petrol or diesel that we buy have been used. In all probability,
they are lying unspent or are simply missing, having been diverted for other
expenses. It is the Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Ministry's own facts
and figures that reveal the sloth, inefficiency and indifference because of
which at least 15 per cent of the funds for the States and 73 per cent for
the Union Territories are lying unutilised in Government coffers. But that
is only one part of the story. What is worse is there seems to be no accounting
for the amounts collected since 2000 when the cess was first imposed. Also,
if States have spent 85 per cent of the funds, where are the results? The
state of our roads does not reflect such claimed expenditure.
The Central Road Fund, set up with the cess, has laid down procedures for
disbursement: Of every Rs 2 collected, 50 paise is supposed to go towards
the development and maintenance of national highways while Rs 1.50 is to be
distributed for State roads, flyovers, safety works at unmanned railway crossings
and the betterment of roads of economic importance. All this is fine on paper.
But where is the follow-up action? Why is the performance of the Union Territories
so poor? And how come the national Capital has not been drawing on this fund
to build and maintain infrastructure? If some States do not need this money,
why is the cess there at all? Indeed, why are people being made to pay for
roads through taxes, an additional cess and toll fees? Which leads us to the
question: Are roads meant for facilitating connectivity or enabling favoured
operators to profit through toll fees? The Government will no doubt say that
it gets a share of the toll fee, but that only goes to show how it is fleecing
people thrice over.
When the road cess was announced by the NDA
Government, people willingly agreed to pay it in the hope that it would improve
the condition of our roads and highways, apart from creating new infrastructure.
But work on the Golden Quadrilateral has come to a grinding halt while the
North-South and East-West Corridors are going nowhere, thanks to a cussed
UPA Government, which seems to be intent on stalling these projects simply
because they were initiated by a non-Congress regime. The issue, however,
is not of partisan politics but Government's accountability. The Petroleum
Ministry must tell the people how much money has been collected by way of
cess through the sale of petrol and diesel; the Finance Ministry owes an explanation
as to how this money has been disbursed; and, the Shipping, Road Transport
and Highways Ministry must account for its expenditure. It is not enough to
pass the buck among themselves or blame the States.
