Till When People Will Have To Pay Toll On Mumbai-Pune Expressway: Bombay High Court Asks MSRDC
Mumbai, February 19, 2021: How many more years will toll collection continue on Mumbai-Pune Expressway? And is the government getting its share of the revenue coming from toll collection, the key question was raised by the Bombay High Court on Wednesday.
A bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni is hearing public interest litigation (PIL) filed by RTI activists Praveen Wategaonkar, Sanjay Shirodkar, Vivek Welankar and Srinivas Ghanekar.
According to the petition, IRB has collected a toll of Rs 6,673 crore till July 31, 2019. According to the 15-year contract, they had the right to recover Rs 4,330 crore. However, the company has illegally recovered Rs 2,443 crore and the entire amount should go to Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
“However, this did not happen and illegal toll collection from the company is still going on. There is no transparency in the registration of vehicles passing through toll plazas. The company has also got the commercial benefit of the lands adjacent to the expressway. Therefore, this is corruption and it is being ignored by the government,” the petition states.
Taking cognizance of this petition, the Bombay High court on Thursday raised the questions about toll collection on Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The court asked about exact toll amount has been collected by M/s IRB Company on Mumbai-Pune Expressway so far?
The bench also directed MSRDC to submit all the details on the affidavit within two weeks, including how much amount it has received from toll collection share. The court also directed the petitioners to file their reply by affidavit within five days and adjourned the next hearing for three weeks.
