KOHAT, Dec 2: Seized non-custom paid vehicles worth millions of rupees are rusting away under open sky for last many years at various police stations and offices of customs department here, which otherwise could earn huge amount for national kitty if sold after completion of litigation.

The vehicles seized by the police and customs officials on charges of smuggling and non-payment of custom duty could be saved from damage and their life prolonged if sheds are constructed for them at the relevant departments.

The vehicles include costly jeeps, buses, coasters and cars.

Tyres, engines, seats and bodies of such vehicles are rusting away.

This loss could have been easily avoided by early auction of the vehicles or construction of sheds to save them from damage.

Earlier, such vehicles used to be given to influential people on ‘superdari’ (temporary possession) at a nominal fee of Rs100 so that they are kept moving and after completion of the case their fate could be decided whether to hand them over to owners or auction them. However, now this process has been abandoned due to unknown reasons.

Recently, the provincial government released Rs5 million for construction of a shed on tehsil municipal authority’s premises to protect machinery like jeeps, tractors and shovels from damage, but after six months even the PC-1 of the project has not been prepared.

As a result, the officers have been spending hefty amount on repair of these vehicles every month, which could easily be saved by constructing proper sheds for them.

Likewise, arms and ammunition seized during raids by police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is usually dumped in seeping warehouses and wasted. These could be sold out to arms dealers legally or auctioned in the same manner.