Time to answer: Senate body questions Motorway Police commissions

ISLAMABAD:

Motorway Police recieves commission on income which is generated by charging commuters who ply on the Motorway. However, the legality of this claim was questioned by a Senate committee which directed the Minister for Communication Arbab Alamgir to present details over the issue.

The Senate Standing Committee on Communication met on Thursday, with Senator Mir Wali Muhammad Badini in the chair, to discuss the sources of income as well as expenditures of the National Highway Authority (NHA).

The committee expressed concern on the matter of commissions which the Motorway Police earns on the income from the motorists.

Senator Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari said it was important that the ministry inform the committee about the legal documentation under which the Motorway Police receives the commission.

“What is the percentage of the commission and what is its legal status?” he asked

Alamgir responding to the questions raised by the committee said that Motorway Police receives 50 per cent commission from the NHA while the remaining 50 per cent of the amount goes to the authority’s account.

“The Motorway Police spends almost 25 per cent of the commission on its awareness campaign while the remaining 25 per cent is spent on the welfare of the police officials,” the minister explained.

The committee directed the minister to provide details, in the next meeting, of the legislation under which the Motorway Police is entitled to receive 50 per cent commission from the NHA.

Hinting at paucity of funds, the minister added that the government had allocated Rs36 billion in the budget for the ministry, but had released only Rs12 billion so far.

The officials of the ministry told the committee that the nominal grants allocated for its development projects were one of the sources of the NHA’s income, among other key sources of income such as toll receipts, police fines, weight-stations fees and rents from hotels and CNG stations.

The income, Alamgir replied, was being used by the NHA on maintaining the network.  The official told the committee that the NHA received around Rs9,230 million in revenue through toll tax during the year 2009-10.

According to the minister, the government had plans to install an electronic management system to collect tax on the toll plazas. “Income will automatically increase after the installation of the electronic system,” he added.

The committee also expressed reservations on the previous contract between the NHA, National Logistics Cell and the Frontier Works Organisation, according to which the latter were not required to pay the actual amount of toll tax.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2011.