In a significant jump of nearly 130%, the Delhi Transport Corporation’s (DTC) liabilities rose from Rs 28,263 crore in the financial year 2015-16 to Rs 65,274 crore in the financial year 2021-2022 — by around Rs 37,000 crore — a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) revealed.
During this period, the DTC also incurred operational losses of Rs 14,000 crore, the report, which was tabled by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in the Delhi Assembly on Monday, underlined.
The CAG report on the operational efficiency of DTC for the year ending March 31, 2022, was presented as the Budget Session began on Monday.
As of March 31, 2022, the DTC was operational in 468 of 814 routes (57%) in the city, as per the report, which flagged that route planning was also “deficient”.
The operational efficiency of DTC vis a vis all India average — with respect to fleet utilisation and vehicle productivity — was on the lower side, it said. Due to this, DTC was unable to recover its operational cost in any of the routes operated by it, which led to an operational loss of Rs 14,198.86 crore.
According to the report, “The performance audit was taken up considering the essential bus service being provided by the corporation in Delhi and the fact that it has been continuously incurring losses.”
Indecisiveness in finalising tenders for purchasing new buses, weak operational control, lack of coordination among divisions, lack of follow-up with debtors, and delay in statutory compliances were among the factors listed for losses to the DTC. Among other key findings, the report highlighted that DTC had not prepared any business or prospective plan.
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Between 2013 and 2023, the DTC’s bus fleet reduced from 4,344 to 3,937. “The corporation could procure only 300 electric buses (EBs) during 2021-22 and 2022-23. Despite the availability of funds from GNCTD, there was a delay in the addition of EBs in the fleet for which a penalty amounting to Rs 29.86 crore for delayed delivery was not imposed on the operators,” as per the findings.
The report flagged that the “proportion of overage buses will continue to rise if the DTC does not make sincere efforts to procure/ add new buses”. The number of low-floor overaged buses increased from 0.13% (five buses) in 2015 to 44.96 % (1,770), as of March 31, 2023, of its total fleet.
Fleet utilisation ranged from 76.95% to 85.84% and vehicle productivity per day per bus ranged from 180 km to 201 km — against a 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 March 31, 2022,” reads the report.
It also highlighted that the number of breakdowns ranged from 2.90 to 4.57 10,000 km per operation from 2015 to 2022 and this led to a loss of potential revenues of Rs 668.60 crore.
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The CAG report also flagged projects that were not functional on the ground. Among these is the Automatic Fare Collection System Phase I, which was commissioned in December 2017, but due to the inability of the system integrator to run the same, it has not been functional since May 2022.
While CCTV cameras were installed and commissioned in 3,697 buses in March 2021, and a payment of Rs 52.45 crore was released to the contractor, pending the user acceptance test of the system, it was not declared “Go live”. Thus, this system was not fully operational in buses as of May 2023. The installation of CCTVs for the safety of women in DTC buses was one of the flagship projects of the previous AAP government.
The audit report also emphasised that the performance of cluster buses operated by Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS) was “better in every operational aspect except operational revenue per km, as compared to the performance of the corporation buses, even as both were operating in the same city and under similar circumstances.”
The CAG report was one of the 14 reports passed by the Cabinet headed by the Delhi CM on the first day she assumed charge. The BJP government has tabled three reports so far — health and liquor policy being the other two.
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Meanwhile, the AAP in its response to the report said, “The CAG has confirmed — there was no scam or corruption in the running of DTC”. “In 2021, the BJP falsely alleged a scam in the procurement of 1,000 new low-floor buses. The L-G then ordered a CBI probe, forcing officers to put the proposal on hold. For years, the BJP held Delhi’s public transport system to ransom, depriving people of better services. They must apologise to the people of Delhi for this deliberate sabotage,” AAP said.