CAG report: Despite Rs 60,750 crore loss, DTC lacks revival road map

Despite a loss of Rs 60,750 crore in 2021-12, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) incurred an avoidable liability of interest and penalty of Rs 63.10 crore due to wrongly availing of Input Tax Credit for Goods and Services Tax on exempted services, said a CAG report tabled in Delhi Assembly on Monday.

The public auditor's report exposed the DTC's vulnerable financial condition, reflecting poorly on the previous AAP government that allegedly failed to lay down a road map for checking the downward spiral of the finances of the Corporation and ensuring its fiscal sustainability.

“The Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Functioning of Delhi Transport Corporation for the year ended 31 March 2022” was tabled by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in the Delhi Assembly on Monday.

The CAG report on DTC highlighted the mounting financial losses of the public transporter which has been offering free rides to women over the past 10 years and struggling to phase out polluting, ageing vehicles with e-buses.

It pointed out that the DTC's losses increased in six years by Rs 35,000 crore, rising from Rs 25,300 crore in 2015-16 to nearly Rs 60,750 crore in 2021-22.

Operational inefficiency, deficient route planning, non-functional project for Automatic Fare Collection System since 2020, failure to recover dues from the transport department and missed opportunities to earn potential revenue were other damning observations of the CAG on DTC's financial health and management.

On the issue of poor operational efficiency, the CAG report said: “The fleet utilisation of the Corporation ranged from 76.95 per cent to 85.84 per cent and vehicle productivity per day per bus ranged from 180 km to 201 km as against target ranging from 189 to 200 km per bus per day during 2015-22, due to frequent breakdowns and the existence of 656 overaged buses in its fleet as on 31 March 2022.”

The government auditor also slammed the poor route planning. “The Corporation was operating on 468 routes (57 per cent) out of 814 routes as of 31 March 2022. The Corporation was unable to recover its operational cost in any of the routes operated by it.”

The non-revision of fares since 2009 also caught the attention of the CAG. “The fare of the Corporation buses was last revised and made effective from November 3, 2009,” the report said, highlighting that the DTC did not have the autonomy for fare determination due to which it was unable to fully recover its operational cost.

The Corporation had outstanding dues of Rs 225.31 crore recoverable from the Transport Department against unreceived rent, service tax and water charges for space transferred for the operation/parking of Cluster buses.

The CAG report said Property Tax and Ground Rent of Rs 6.26 crore on these depots and Rs 4.62 crore in providing vehicles to the Transport Department also remained unrecovered.

The Corporation also lost the opportunity to earn potential revenue due to delay in awarding of advertising contracts and failed to augment its revenue by utilising the available space at depots for commercial purposes.