Odisha audit finds thousands of vehicle fines issued under wrong offences

An audit by India’s Comptroller and Auditor General has identified thousands of traffic fines issued in Odisha for offences that could not have been committed by the vehicles involved. Reports tabled in the Odisha Legislative Assembly found that 2,988 two-wheelers were booked for driving without a seat belt between 2019 and 2024. The cases generated fines of ₹29.88 lakh.

In the same period, 4,786 three- and four-wheelers were issued helmet-violation challans, with fines totalling ₹47.86 lakh. The CAG said its analysis of VAHAN and e-Challan data showed a lack of validation controls. It described the errors as evidence of a casual approach to booking offences and recommended that incorrect challans be cancelled and action taken against responsible officers.

The audit also examined a contract for biomining 61,156 metric tonnes of legacy waste near Biju Patnaik University of Technology in Rourkela. It found that 60,058 tonnes of waste were recorded as transported using two motorcycles, an e-rickshaw, a car and a non-existent vehicle. The CAG said ₹3.29 crore, representing 57 per cent of the test-checked amount, was paid for the questionable transportation records.

The audit examined vouchers covering seven months and payments of ₹5.81 crore for the reported removal of 106,000 tonnes of waste. In Keonjhar, the audit found that ₹6.06 crore from the District Mineral Foundation was sanctioned in 2023 for five students’ course fees, health insurance and living costs at Curtin University in Australia without approval from the fund’s board of trustees. The CAG questioned whether the spending served the wider mining-affected population and said it had not been established that the students came from villages directly affected by mining.

The state government said the spending had been made in good faith to empower local young people.