Computerized Interstate Check Posts in Gujarat

Abstract

Through the use of computers and other electronic devices at 10 remote interstate border check posts in Gujarat, India, a team of savvy public officials have reduced corruption and significantly increased the state's tax revenue.

Application Context

Gujarat has an extensive road network, which carries a large volume of commercial traffic. Major highway systems link Dehli to Mumbai and provide the principal link to the Kandla sea port on Gujarat's west coast. Gujarat's 10 check posts are positioned at the border with three neighboring Indian states. Nearly 25,000 transport vehicles enter daily through these check posts.

Trucking companies want to maximize their earnings from each vehicle. Often this has prompted transporters to load their trucks beyond permissible axle load, creating a serious safety hazard. The central excise and state sales tax is levied on the basis of a record of the weight/count of manufactured goods that are shipped out from the factory or shipped to a trader. Yet, the number of trucks dispatched in a day is the the primary basis of this assessment. Thus, by overloading trucks manufacturers have evaded excise duty. (Some estimates are that 80-90% of vehicles are overloaded.)

The Gujarat Motor Vehicles Department (GMVD) controls the road transport activity in Gujarat. While the broad policies are laid down by India's central government in the Motor Vehicles Act, state governments are empowered to determine the penalties for infractions and procedures for enforcement. Nevertheless, state governments typically have been ineffective at reducing the number of overloaded vehicles. Inspection of 100% of commercial vehicles has been impossible; and check post inspectors have been notoriously corrupt. The GMVD department has 137 inspectors, of whom 27 were on suspension (under scrutiny for corrupt practices). It is common knowledge that inspectors' posts at lucrative check posts can be bought for as much as Rs 10 million.

In Gujarat's traditional check post system, a suspect vehicle is flagged to a stop, and then weighed on a weigh bridge located away from traffic. The legal penalty for overload is Rs 2,000 per ton. However, any fine often has been (illegially) negotiated. Inspectors are also expected to check for the driver's interstate transit permit, and that the state's annual road tax has been paid by vehicles registered in Gujarat. Corruption by departmental inspectors at these check posts has led to harassment of truck drivers and loss of revenue to the state.

The problem of corruption was particularly difficult to attack as the corrupt were backed by politicians. In the absence of any systematic inspection of vehicles, the transport companies also adopted various illegal practices. Duplicate copies of a single registration book from the Regional Transport Office (RTO) have been used for many different vehicles, using fake license plates.

A New Approach

When Mr. Pannervel became Commissioner of the Transport Department in 1998 he was determined to introduce greater efficiency and root out corruption. First, he introduced SMART card drivers licenses. His next IT project was to use computers and communication networks to collect fines from overloaded vehicles.

In the computerized process, all the check posts are monitored at a central location using video cameras installed at every check post cabin. The video camera captures the registration number of all trucks approaching the check post. (There are flood-lights and traffic lights which make the check posts appear like a runway at night.) A software converts the video image of the registration number to a digital form and the details of the truck are accessed from a central data base. An electronic weigh bridge captures the weight and the computer issues a demand note for fine, automatically. Drivers can use a stored value card for payment.

With the each revamped check post:

1. A 10 lane approach road of 1.3 kms length has been built to receive the vehicles.
   Each lane has a video camera positioned high, on a pole, with a proper protective casing.
2. There is a control room with 2 computer servers - the Data Base server that transmits the vehicle data through a 64 KBPS leased line, and a video server that captures & relays the video images, frame by frame, to a central server at the RTO. Power to the system is assured by dedicated lines from the State Electricity Board, backed up by a high capacity generator and 72 hour backup UPS.
3. The video capture and transmit process (known as SIPCA - Satellite Image Processing and Capturing unit) has been supplied by a subsidiary of Phillips. The software for License tracking and the weigh-bridge equipment is also by Phillips. RTO has an IBM Server with DB2 RDBMS.
4. Operators who man the cabins are from the private sector. Although GMVD employees have been trained to operate the new equipment, they are not operating the key nodes at the check posts.
5. A database of all the 0.5 million commercial vehicles registered in Gujarat will be created at the HO in RTO premises. A powerful IBM server (AS 400) is installed there with DB2 as the RDBMS.
6. With the vehicle's registration number the data base can retrieve information on the make of vehicle, whether or not the National Permit exists and is valid, insurance, whether the vehicle tax has been paid, etc.
7. Once the vehicle arrives at the weigh bridge, the un-laden weight, the actual weight, the amount of overload, and the fine that must be paid is displayed on an electronic (plasma) boards. In this way, the process is made wholly transparent to the driver.
8. Drivers hold a pre-paid card (in denominations of Rs. 2000 or Rs 5000) which are used for paying any penalty. This card costs Rs. 50.
9. Operators also are expected to check head lights, tax payment, etc. Any shortfall is recorded in the computer. Only if corrective measure is taken and recorded in the system will the sensor-controlled barrier allow the truck to proceed.
10. If the driver cannot pay the penalty, the vehicle must be parked in a designated parking lot. The RTO Inspector confiscates the vehicle's registration documents until the payment is made.

Future plans include integrating payment of sales tax on the goods carried by the vehicles.

Implementation Challenges

The new system has teething problems. The central data base is being built, and for many vehicles it still does not hold the requisite details. Hence, the operator uses his judgement and, depending on the make of the vehicle, selects the permissible weight from a drop-down selection box.

The leased line (64 KBPS) connectivity is currently available at only 2 check posts (Shamlaji & Bhilad, the two largest). The centralized video monitoring is therefore not working properly. In some check posts inspectors may still harass the drivers to extort bribes.

The writing and pattern of license plates is often non-standard and not in compliance with the law. Hence, the license tracking software has not worked properly (only about 35 out of 5,000 numbers were read accurately). Now trucks with non standard number plates are required to replace them at the check post. A vendor is available to make the change, for a fee.

Initially the system issued manual receipts with limited information, since the automatic receipt generated by the computer, without a signature of the officer, was not legally valid. With passage of the central IT Act, the RTO's signature has been digitally incorporated on the receipt.

Data on the number of vehicles crossing the check post suggests that some vehicles have begun to divert through longer routes in adjoining states to avoid the penalty. Implementing similar systems in other states could plug the loop hole.

Benefits and Costs  

Notwithstanding the implementation difficulties with the new system, the inspection of all vehicles has produced three-fold increase in tax collection over 2 years. Revenue increased from $12 million to $35 million, paying back the total project cost of $4 million in just 6 months.

On average, vehicles are cleared in 2 minutes instead of 30 in the manual system. Harassment of truckers continues, abetted by the problems with the video monitoring system.

The large and medium transport owners are happy with the system because they can come to know the exact date and time their driver passed the check post. The pre-paid card means that the driver does not have to carry much money.

Key Lessons

Although the corruption that has been so common at the check posts was supported at the level of politicians and senior bureaucrats, Mr. Pannervel was able to capitalize on the support of a new Chief Minister and IT minister who were interested in rooting out corruption and also raising more revenue. He made commitments to increase revenue in selling his proposal.

The promoters of the private sector system employed by the department are known to be closely associated with the Transport and IT Minister. In situations such as this, pragmatic bureaucrats have had to operate skillfully to ensure that the procurement of these services is carried out fairly.

To root out corruption, automation has been used to reduce the discretion of manual opeartors to a minimum. Education of clients (drivers and transporters) about the operation of the new system is a key to stop any harassment. The total revamping of the check post area has helped in selling the concept to truckers.

The new system could be used by the sales tax department of the State, which must monitor the movement of goods in the state, as well as transshipments. This might require that documents carried by truckers be made computer readable (bar coded). The Government is already working on a smart card based registration card. However coordination across departments is difficult, and resisted by the senior bureaucracy.

Case study author: P. Panneervel and Subhash Bhatnagar
Information used to develop the case: Material collected by Ms Monica Raina and Shilpa Kedar from the check posts and truckers, as well as discussions by the author with the transport commissiner for Gujarat.
Date submitted: January 16, 2000; revised December 3, 2001.