minister for transport and home R Ashoka, who visited the plaza, said the NHAI had not taken permission from the state transport authorities before commencing the construction of the toll plaza at near Sadahalli Gate.
The state government on Monday entered into a direct confrontation with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) over the collection of toll from vehicles plying on the road towards the international airport, with a state minister ordering the suspension of the “illegal” fee.
Terming the collection of toll, which commenced on Sunday midnight, illegal, minister for transport and home R Ashoka, who visited the plaza, said the NHAI had not taken permission from the state transport authorities before commencing the construction of the toll plaza at near Sadahalli Gate.
The minister also ordered the toll booth employees to refrain from collecting fee from motorists till the government held another round of parleys with the NHAI.
The project director of NHAI in Bangalore, RK Gupta, refused to comment on Ashoka’s statement. “It (the decision of collecting toll) is a government of India notification to start collecting toll, and we did it. I cannot make comments on what the state transport minister has said.”
The NHAI constructed the plaza ahead of the trumpet deviation to the airport, triggering widespread criticism and protests from taxi unions.
Meanwhile, the NHAI denied making any promises to the representatives of taxi unions during a meeting with them. It has been earlier claimed that the authority had promised not to levy tax till the six-lane expressway project was completed by March 2013.
NHAI officials met taxi unions on April 18 and reportedly assured that the toll collection would begin only after the completion of the project. Based on the promise, the unions called off the protest, and the NHAI did not collect the toll for a week.
The collection of the toll started on a tragic note as a youth was killed in a freak accident at the plaza. Following the accident, residents protested against the plaza. They were later joined by activists of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, and a few taxi unions, who went on a rampage and damaged the toll booths.
GR Shanmugappa, president of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), who also joined the protesters said: “We are against the government constructing the toll plaza ahead of trumpet section of the airport, and not as proposed beyond the airport. Also, we are hurt as the NHAI officials have now backed off from their assurances made to us last week that the toll will not be levied until the (expressway) project is completed.”
Meanwhile, cabbies and truckers alleged that the NHAI asked them to take monthly pass for `975, or else they would not be allowed to pass through the plaza.
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