Tripura probe into bus purchase scam

AGARTALA: The Tripura government has initiated a vigilance inquiry into an alleged scam in procurement of buses under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the most ambitious project of the UPA government for improving urban mobility, during the tenure of the Left Front government
CPM central committee member and former PWD minister Badal Choudhury and retired chief engineer Sunil Bhowmik are in police custody in connection with the Rs 164-crore scam in the PWD during 2008-09.
Transport minister Pranajit Singharoy on Friday said the initial investigation indicated alleged irregularities from the beginning to the operation of bus services in the city under JNNURM.
Besides serious administrative loopholes in the process of bus procurement and operational phases, it has been noticed that all damaged buses were accepted by the Tripura Urban Transport Company Ltd (TUTCL) without even imposing any penalty.
"We have forwarded all the necessary details to the vigilance department for initiating an inquiry into the matter," Singharoy said. The initial probe has revealed there was funds misappropriation to the tune of Rs 27 crore, he added. Under JNNURM, the state government had started the process of purchasing 173 buses in 2009 but ultimately only 90 were found on the streets. Thirty buses were found in a dilapidated condition in a garage and there was no trace of 53 other buses.
Holding the previous government responsible for the irregularities, the minister alleged that in some cases, TUTCL had returned the bank guarantee to the operators without verifying the condition of the vehicles, which caused huge losses to the public exchequer.