Octroi collection to get tough

SURAT, Nov 16: Concerned over its dwindling octroi income, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has decided to pull its socks up and as a r...

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SURAT, Nov 16: Concerned over its dwindling octroi income, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has decided to pull its socks up and as a remedial measure, the Octroi department has been divided into four divisions and `supervision’ at all major octroi posts have been intensified to prevent octroi evasion.

Municipal Commissioner S Jagadeesan has placed each division under a senior officer, namely Deputy Commissioner (general) Ashwin Mehta, Assistant Commissioner (finance and accounts) K C Mehta, Assistant Commissioner (personnel) C J Gamit, and Assistant Commissioner (octroi) B T Shah.

However, for centralised control and co-ordination, the department remains under assistant commissioner Shah. But any of the four in-charge of octroi divisions “can instruct and entrust any work” to revenue enforcement branch or the anti-octroi evasion squad.

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Besides, 12 senior officials — including seven personnel officers and four assistant engineers — have been transferred to the octroi department. These officers, who will supervise octroi posts, have been asked to “increase physical verification of chemical, electronic items being brought in the city and keep a watch at each vehicle entering the city.”

However, despite these measures, a section of the elected wing feels that mere bifurcation of the department cannot “generate more income”. Standing Committee member Shankerlal Chavli, in fact, accuses the commissioner of “misleading the elected wing” by playing to the gallery. “The civic chief wants to be seen taking tough measures, but this is nothing but gimmicks,” he alleges, adding that if Jagadeesan is really serious he should “break the nexus between civic officials and octroi evaders” in the city.

Civic authorities say given the current growth rate of octroi income, SMC would not be able to achieve its target of Rs 221 crore. They say while the average growth rate in the past five years has been 17 per cent, this year it is going to touch an all-time low.

According to Chavli, in the past seven months, the total octroi income was Rs 104 crore, while last year it was Rs 103 crore for the same corresponding period, though the estimated income was Rs 198.

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While authorities claim that octroi income is dwindling because of recession, Chavli refuses to buy their argument, pointing out that the Ahmedabad and Vadodara municipal corporations’ income was increasing.

Stating that no amount of supervision can generate more income, he says, bifurcation of the division would work only if the alleged octroi evasion racket was busted. Agrees a senior councillor, who points out that just transferring a few officers from one department to other will have no positive impact on income generation. He alleges that K C Mehta, who is the assistance commissioner (finance and accounts) and also in-charge of the West Zone, has no time to visit the octroi post.

He says the other two in-charges — Gamit and Mehta — are already overburden. While Gamit is the Katargam zone in-charge, Mehta is in-charge of Udhna Zone. The councillor suggests that the commissioner should fill vacant posts of senior officers in the octroi department, which have been lying vacant for years.

However, recently an MBA graduate has been transferred to the Octroi department and placed under Shah to assist him.