The lTC fraud investigations ambit is likely to widen, with the CBI and CVC seeking details from NHAI about cases of such fraudulent practice in the organisation over years. The Pioneer was the first to expose the frauds and misuse of lTC claims by top Government servants in September 2012.
The matter is being investigated by CVC while NHAI’s own vigilance inquiry into the matter has been completed and forwarded to the concerned authorities. NHAI Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) Aloke Prasad has noted that bogus airline boarding passes were generated. Sources conformed that CBI has already received some documents from the CVC on this matter
The details of the boarding pass, tickets etc. has been called from the concerned account department of NHAI to send a report to the CVC and also to the CVO in the Road Transport Ministry. The Pioneer on September 30, 2012 had reported about the lTC frauds happening in the PSUs and other Government organisations for many years.
The CBI has in fact sought details from all the PSEs/PSU and Government departments, including NHAI following unearthing of lTC scam. Top officials of the Rajya Sabha secretariat, Shipping Corporation of India, Air India and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) have been quizzed in this regard by the agency and it has alleged that senior and mid-level Government officers colluded with private tour operators to take personal trips with families to far-off destinations and then claim the amount spent as official visits.
The incident came to light when Kolkata Police nabbed a person with 600 boarding passes of Air India. It was later found that the boarding passes had to be delivered to other parties to show fake travel documents thus alerting the vigilance department of Air India.
To recap, in complete violation of the service rules, 10 top officials of NHAI including their Chief General Manager(s) went on foreign jaunts along with their family members between 2007- 2009. The lTC claims were made for inland lTC eligible trips, but they went to Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and later submitted fake boarding passes and related documents. Package tour is not allowed in lTC and only to and fro fare by the shortest route is allowed.
“Since the team was led by none other the then General Manager in charge of administration VK Sharma himself, NHAI made all attempts to put the matter under carpet. Travelling abroad needs MoRTH approval but the Ministry too was kept in dark,” confided a top MoRTH official. Sharma as administration in charge had himself proposed on 05.12.2007 to permit officers to avail such “opportunity” of clubbing foreign visit on lTC.
Others who availed the “opportunity” which can even lead to their dismissal from their services as per Central Civil Services (lTC Rules, 1988) are CGMs APS Sethi, BP Kukrety, Atul Kumar and GMs Ajit Kumar, KV Sharma, Manoj Sharma and others.
The matter is under investigation within the NHAI between its Finance, CVO and Administration wing which is pending for quite a long time. Investigations have also revealed that Sharma’s appointment at NHAI is also under challenge at Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).