Defeats the purpose of modernizing weighing platform verification
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, March 31: The failure of the Legal Metrology Department (LMD) to hire drivers / trained personnel to operate mobile cranes equipped with the Indian government-provided weighbridge test kits for an amount of $ 1 , 18 billion rupees not only resulted in underfunding of these vehicles, but it also defeated the intended purpose of modernizing the inspection of weighing platforms.
This was highlighted by the Comptroller and Advocate General (CAG) from India in its most recent report. According to the report, the Government of India (GoI) has equipped two mobile cranes (one in December 2008 and one in March 2012) with weighbridge test kits worth 1.18 billion rupees as part of the “Strengthening Infrastructure for Weights and Measures” program LMD, Jammu and Kashmir.
In March 2009, the deputy controller LMD Jammu forecast a minimum turnover of 10 lakh per year with these mobile test kits. Subsequently, in November 2011, the government of J & K set Rs 2000 as a usage fee for the use of the mobile kit loaded with tests, weights for checking the weighing platforms installed in J & K.
However, the review of the records by CAG revealed that a mobile crane received in December 2008 could not be put into service until May 2010 due to the unavailability of the driver / operator and the necessary funds for maintenance, and then from May 2010 to November 2010 it was only Operated for seven months with the help of a driver on deputation from J&K State Road Transport Corporation.
After that, the mobile crane (since November 2010) stayed away from the road and parked on the premises of a private industry in the industrial area of Kathua, where the rear tires of the mobile crane were stolen in January 2011, for which a first information report was created, also housed in the affected police station.
In August 2012, the joint controller, LMD Jammu, requested the director of LMD, New Delhi, to withdraw the mobile crane, as it could not be used optimally in the lanes and in the lanes of Jammu’s industrial plants due to its size.
The Indian government then received a second mobile crane in March 2012, which was only put into operation from February 2015 to June 2018 after internal arrangements for a driver were made. However, this second mobile crane has also remained inoperative since July 2018 due to the unavailability of a driver.
Since the department did not hire drivers / trained staff to ensure effective use and maintenance for the functioning of these cranes, they remained inactive. As a result, the department was only able to get the usage fee of 17.74 lakh back in 2009-18 through the use of these mobile crane test kits, which was well below the estimated 90 lakh usage fee forecast by deputy controller LMD Jammu in March 2009.
It also found that in the period 2009-18 887 weighing platforms were verified / re-verified by the department, but only 171 weighing platforms were verified / re-verified using the test kits provided and the remaining 716 weighing platforms were passed without using test kits and now these are Test kits have become junk because they do not meet the new standards for the approval of commercial vehicles. It also found that these mobile cranes were not registered with the transportation department, nor were any efforts made to do so.
LMD’s failure to hire drivers / trained staff not only resulted in financial losses to the government, but defeated the intended purpose of procuring Rs.118 billion worth of mobile cranes, i.e. modernizing and redesigning the manual practice of the Calibration / verification of the weight bridges.
In its report, the CAG instructed the LMD to ensure that the necessary manpower is available before the requirements for machines are processed, so that these (machines) can be optimally used and the modernization as well as the redesign of the work processes can be achieved in full.
