GHMC to introduce VMS to manage vehicle irregularities

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has decided to introduce vehicle management system (VMS) or inventory management system to curb irregularities in the transport wing. The corporation will collect the data of both rented and own vehicles for end-to-end tracking of efficiency and maintenance. Each vehicle will have an individual database which will be tallied with the master data. 

The civic body's ground level staff has been indulging in various irregularities including producing fake bills for fuel, spares and all other matters related to maintenance of vehicles. The corporation’s online coupon system has also not given desired results due to misappropriations by the ground level staff. 

Sources alleged that the corporation had not been maintaining diesel stock registers since 2012, which has been allowing the field level staff to manipulate bills. Even though the corporation has introduced an online coupon system to curb the irregularities, the assistant engineers who were supposed to sign coupons while issuing them have not been doing it on time.

Apathy of officials has been causing damages of more than Rs 100 crore in revenue to the corporation. Sources said that a spare parts scam which was unearthed during January ran to the tune of Rs 26 crore and the remaining amount in the Rs 100 crore was that of a diesel scam.  

“In order to put an end to such irregularities, details of every vehicle will be made online where the fuel consumption, replacement of the spare parts, lubrication and number of trips with average mileage of the vehicle would be tracked,” said a senior official. 

He said that the corporation would maintain the database of vehicles which were hired for use. "If the drivers claim the excess fuel consumption and frequent replacement of spares was due to the poor condition of the vehicles, each vehicle will be monitored under the supervision of an official and asked to submit a report prior to initiating legal action," the official added. He said that the vehicle management system will be launched by the end of the month.