The government has suffered a loss of revenue amounting to Tk5.4 crore due to graft in ferry services through Paturia-Daulatdia Ferry Ghat in fiscal 2005-06.
According to official sources, officials and employees of the Bangladesh Inland Water and Transport Corporation in collusion with transport workers swindled the money, showing big-size buses as small buses.
The BIWTC in 2003 fixed fare for a big-size bus Tk1,155 and for a small bus Tk905 in ferrying the river and later in 2006 it was raised to Tk 1200 for big-size buses and Tk 950 for small-size ones, said the sources.
The Works Audit Directorate of the Comptroller and Auditor General Office conducted an audit at the BIWTC head office in the capital in 2007 and found that a section of BIWTC officials caused a loss of Tk5.4 crore in fiscal 2005-06 in ferrying off-size buses (big buses) as small buses at Paturia-Daulatdia Ferry Ghat in a planned way, reports UNB.
On April 5, 2011, the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts took into account the graft allegation at its 63rdmeeting held and asked the authorities concerned to take steps to realise the money from those involved in collecting the fare at the ferry ghat and the bus owners within next 60 days.
It also suggested that the BIWTC should file cases against bus owners as per the Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913 if they refuse to pay the dodged fare and take departmental action against the BIWTC officials responsible for the venue loss and inform the standing committee about its progress through CGA office within next 30 days.
Although nearly three years have elapsed after the parliamentary standing committee meeting, the BIWTC has not been able to take any move to realise the money and did not take any departmental action against the BIWTC officials involved in the corruption.
BIWTC chief audit officer M Abul Kalam Azad said the Works Audit Directorate during its audit examined the sold tickets of buses mentioned in the register book of the ferry ghat. “Many normal buses pass the river through the ferry every day. So, the audit objection mentioning all buses as off-size ones is not correct,” he claimed.
About the progress in realising dodged fare, Azad said the BIWTC sent notices to the bus owners on a number of occasions and they replied that they would not pay any money in this regard.
The BIWTC General Manager said most of the BIWTC officials who were on duty at the ferry ghat during the period have already gone on retirement or died, so departmental action could not be taken against them.
“According our legal advisers, there’s no scope of filing case against the bus owners as per the Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913 in realising the dodged bus fare as a long time has already elapsed since the incident,” he said.
About the graft allegation, BIWTC Chairman Mojibar Rahman said he would take stern action against those involved in corruption.