CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu State transport corporations have defaulted on paying a staggering Rs 435 crore that tribunals directed them to pay as compensation to victims of road accidents caused by their vehicles, says a Comptroller and Auditor General report.
There are thousands of other cases involving claims totalling Rs 1,504 crore which had not been decided upon by courts; many among these unsettled dues date back to over a decade, the report for 2014 said.
The failure to pay up the compensation irked courts so much that 4,771 buses were impounded in five years ended March, 2015, the report said, pointing out the irony of the government losing Rs 213.37 crore due to loss of operation of (4.24 lakh days) of the impounded vehicles.
The report went on to mention that the number of defaults by state transport undertakings in decided cases increased from 11,721,involving Rs 224.49 crore, as on March 31, 2010 to 16,797 cases, involving Rs 435.07 crore as on March 31, 2015.
There were 5,382 fatal (Rs 716.65 crore) and 22,702 injury cases (Rs 786.94 crore), totalling 28,084 claims, amounting to a sum of Rs 1,504 crore, which had not been decided upon by courts, the auditor said.
After the Motor Accident Claims Tribunals (MACT) pronounced the awards,transport corporations failed to pay the awarded sums,resulting in claimants filing Execution Petitions (EPs) to enforce payments.
As per audit analysis, there are 699 execution petitions involving Rs 25.64 crore awarded by courts, but not settled by two STUs till July 2015.
Of the 4,771 buses which were impounded by various courts for non-settlement of dues, 692 buses were not released as on March 2015.
This caused a loss of operation of 4.24 lakh days and resulted in a loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 213.37 crore, the report said.
Many victims are still awaiting compensation for more than 10 years, the report further noted, cautioning that this has an effect on the STUs image, giving a negative image among the public.