1 driver, multiple buses: MTC hit by scam
Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com
Chennai: 07.08.2018
: Automated public transport could be a generation away, but Metropolitan Transportation Corporation records showed remarkable progress on this front by some staff — including one driver who operated multiple buses simultaneously, earning separate overtime wages for each vehicle.
Alas for the transport corporation, and taxpayers who pay the wages of its employees, MTC officials recently discovered that the feat was evidence of a payroll scam that the seemingly superdexterous driver and six other staff members had successfully pulled off since January.
MTC suspended all seven after an internal probe revealed that they exploited a wide gap in the allowances of permanent and temporary staff to fudge the name of the driver to show him on duty on various routes and pocket the difference in wages, an MTC official said.
The driver, Sudarshanam, received multiple allowances for operating buses from Koyambedu to Kelambakkam and T Nagar to Mogappair at the same time, the records show.
Gilbert, a temporary bus driver basis, and conductor Kumar from Anna Nagar depot, were supposed to operate a bus on route 147B on May 19. The conductor, according to MTC rules, entered details of the total collection in ticket sales and the driver’s name in the log sheet and way bill. But he substituted Gilbert’s name with Sudarshanam, who works out of the same depot.
A computer operator who had seen Sudarshanam organize a labour union event all morning that day, was taken aback when he saw his name in the records. Realizing that something was fishy, he informed the branch manager. The conductor stated that Sudarshanam forced him to enter his name instead of Gilbert’s name.
10 MTC staffers suspended for fudging duty log entries
MTC pays temporary drivers ₹500 per trip and permanent drivers ₹1,000 in overtime wages for the same job, the official said. By entering Sudarshanam’s name, the scamsters could collect ₹1,000, pay Gilbert ₹500 and hand over ₹500 to Sudarshanam — even though he would not be on the route during the shift.
Other sources at MTC said Sudarshanam and his accomplices managed to pull off the scam easily for months, but officials finally got wise to the data fudging game on May 19 when another conductor who was a part of the scam and was assigned on route 570 had also shown Sudharshanam as the driver instead of a temporary appointee.
A probe by officials revealed that Sudarshanam had adopted a similar strategy on route 27B, the sources said. After gathering conclusive evidence, MTC earlier this month suspended 10 staff members — four drivers, including three hired on a temporary basis, three conductors and three computer operators — from Anna Nagar depot in connection with the scam.
The computer operators were cleared of the charges; an inquiry is pending against seven others.
MTC has unearthed similar scams in the Vadapalani and Ambattur bus depot. The transport corporation suspended and later transferred five staff members for the racket at the Vadapalani depot, in which they illegally pocketed ₹45 lakh.
Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com
Chennai: 07.08.2018
: Automated public transport could be a generation away, but Metropolitan Transportation Corporation records showed remarkable progress on this front by some staff — including one driver who operated multiple buses simultaneously, earning separate overtime wages for each vehicle.
Alas for the transport corporation, and taxpayers who pay the wages of its employees, MTC officials recently discovered that the feat was evidence of a payroll scam that the seemingly superdexterous driver and six other staff members had successfully pulled off since January.
MTC suspended all seven after an internal probe revealed that they exploited a wide gap in the allowances of permanent and temporary staff to fudge the name of the driver to show him on duty on various routes and pocket the difference in wages, an MTC official said.
The driver, Sudarshanam, received multiple allowances for operating buses from Koyambedu to Kelambakkam and T Nagar to Mogappair at the same time, the records show.
Gilbert, a temporary bus driver basis, and conductor Kumar from Anna Nagar depot, were supposed to operate a bus on route 147B on May 19. The conductor, according to MTC rules, entered details of the total collection in ticket sales and the driver’s name in the log sheet and way bill. But he substituted Gilbert’s name with Sudarshanam, who works out of the same depot.
A computer operator who had seen Sudarshanam organize a labour union event all morning that day, was taken aback when he saw his name in the records. Realizing that something was fishy, he informed the branch manager. The conductor stated that Sudarshanam forced him to enter his name instead of Gilbert’s name.
10 MTC staffers suspended for fudging duty log entries
MTC pays temporary drivers ₹500 per trip and permanent drivers ₹1,000 in overtime wages for the same job, the official said. By entering Sudarshanam’s name, the scamsters could collect ₹1,000, pay Gilbert ₹500 and hand over ₹500 to Sudarshanam — even though he would not be on the route during the shift.
Other sources at MTC said Sudarshanam and his accomplices managed to pull off the scam easily for months, but officials finally got wise to the data fudging game on May 19 when another conductor who was a part of the scam and was assigned on route 570 had also shown Sudharshanam as the driver instead of a temporary appointee.
A probe by officials revealed that Sudarshanam had adopted a similar strategy on route 27B, the sources said. After gathering conclusive evidence, MTC earlier this month suspended 10 staff members — four drivers, including three hired on a temporary basis, three conductors and three computer operators — from Anna Nagar depot in connection with the scam.
The computer operators were cleared of the charges; an inquiry is pending against seven others.
MTC has unearthed similar scams in the Vadapalani and Ambattur bus depot. The transport corporation suspended and later transferred five staff members for the racket at the Vadapalani depot, in which they illegally pocketed ₹45 lakh.
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