HYDERABAD: In order to comply with the directions of the State government and ensure safety and security of girls and women, Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) set up grills in between the seats of men and women passengers in city buses at a cost of Rs 3.43 crore without obtaining prior assurance of funds from the government. Of this, an expenditure of Rs 1.39 crore did not serve its objective. This was pointed out by the CAG in its audit report for 2016-17.
In a detailed review of non-operating revenue in TSRTC, the CAG said in the selected five regions, there were vacant stalls in 33 bus stations (out of 358). The Corporation lost the opportunity to earn revenue of Rs 3.95 crore. “There was a delay of two years in issuance of circular (21 April 2014) by the Corporation for collection of Service Tax from the date of issue of notification (No. 30, dated 20 June 2012) by the Government of India. The Corporation was liable to pay Service Tax of Rs 5.96 crore,” the report observed.
According to the CAG, due to non-utilisation of the commercial space, the Corporation lost the opportunity to earn revenue in (i) Commuter Amenity Centre/ Bus Terminal, Kukatpally - Rs 0.35 crore (ii) Commuter Amenity Centre/ Bus Terminal, Koti – Rs 0.82 crore. Due to non-enforcement of contractual terms, an amount of Rs 2.62 crore remained unrecovered either from the private bus owners/ advertising agencies.
The Corporation failed to intimate advertising agencies the number of new buses added which resulted in loss of revenue of Rs 0.64 crore, the report revealed.