**Bhubaneswar:** The State exchequer is yet to gain Rs 143.27 crore from the motor vehicle (MV) tax source as the whopping amount was lying outstanding till March 31, 2016 while the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) has also been a defaulter of Rs 17.05 crore against its 95 buses.
Odisha Transport Minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi informed the House on Saturday in his written reply to a question on the subject by Congress Chief Whip and Jeypore legislator Tara Prasad Bahinipati.
In his reply the Transport Minister has stated that no such arrear is above 30 years or any litigation sub judice.
According to him, the outstanding amount of Rs 143.27 crore motor vehicle tax is lying against 90,502 vehicles.
The Minister has also stated that several steps are being taken to collect the defaulted tax money into the State coffers.
Prominent among the steps are directives being issued in regular interval to the Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) for regular review on the matter and collection of the arrears.
Also the outstanding arrears are being collected by the concerned Enforcement wing by forming squads for the purpose.
Besides, the defaulter vehicle owners have also been slapped with Demand Notices, Tax Recovery cases filed against them and above all the vehicles are being seized and auctioned. In addition, measures are also being initiated to collect the arrears from the defaulters by confiscating their both movable and immovable assets in accordance with the Motor Vehicle Act, the Transport Minister states in his written reply.