North Eastern Coalfields (NEC) Role In Tax Evasion Alleged In Cahoots

TINSUKIA: Though the authorities of North Eastern Coalfields (NEC) claim to be relentlessly trying to check pilferage of coal from its mines and designated coal stockyards by registering complaints with the police and district authority from time to time, yet a well-informed source said that such crimes are negligible in comparison to the quantum of government taxes being evaded by the firms allegedly in cahoots with the NEC authority.

There are more than 40 huge excavators engaged by three firms for extraction of coal. These excavators, registered elsewhere in India, allegedly evade annual tax amounting to crores of rupees for years together. The NEC authorities neither informs the authority concerned of the registration status of these vehicles, nor do they bother to furnish details as and when they are sought by the district authority, said a source in the Transport Department. Though the Transport Department succeeded to realize more than Rs 1 crore tax from previous confiscation against all odds, several crores of rupees are still due from former vehicles besides the new ones that have been procured recently.

A senior officials, on the condition of anonymity, said, the NEC authority could have reduced the pilferage from operational area had it fenced the roadside area completely. Presently it is partial, leaving ample opportunity for thieves to steal coal in bulk from store yards.

A police official said, the sudden closure of illegal activities may escalate antisocial activities in the area but pilferage can be minimized if the source is blocked like entry and exit to Namdang hills through Lekhapani. The Government must prohibit plying of trucks with capacity to carry 14-20 tonnes on such a narrow NH as it was done in West Bengal following collapse of a bridge. The bridge on Noa Dihing at Margherita may not withstand the load of huge trucks for a longer period. It must be regulated, observed an official of PWD Roads.

Though a probe by CID on pilferage of coal has been ordered with National Green Tribunal (NGT) banning coal mining in the Northeast, nothing seems to be effective as the quantum of pilferage has increased in larger scale during the past one year in a more organized way than before in the Ledu-Margherita belt. (Concluded)

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