As it is Bandra-Worli Sea Link is making a loss because not enough vehicles take it, on top of that almost 2,000 vehicles ply on it every day free.
Most of these vehicles that zoom past the toll plaza are the ones with red and amber beacons, belonging to the defence, the police, and to MPs and MLAs. As a result, Mumbai Entry Point Ltd (MEPL), in charge of the bridge, loses close to Rs100,000 every day
in the form of toll. And there is no way to check the
genuineness of VIPs.
DNA has records obtained from sources in the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), which say the maximum number of ‘free’ vehicles passing through the sea link on January 15 and 16 belonged to either IAS officers or state ministers. MSRDC owns the Rs1,634-crore engineering marvel.
On an average 500 to 550 vehicles with red and amber beacons crossed the sea link. Mumbai Police came in second with 350 to 400 police vehicles crossing the sea link without paying toll.
Almost 100 defence vehicles took the bridge during this period. Next in the line are the representatives of people. On an average, close to 150 vehicles belonging to MLAs and MPs use the sea link in a day.
But those who deserve to take the sea link for free - in case of an
emergency - seem to prefer other routes instead of the 4.6-km bridge. In these two days, only 50 fire brigade vehicles and 150 medical emergency vehicles used the sea link.
Jayant Mhaiskar, managing director of MEPL, said a government notification made it mandatory for his company to let these vehicles pass through the sea link free of cost. “We allow almost 2,000 vehicles to go through the sea link free every day.” His agency had no powers to check if the official vehicles were being used for official purposes, Mhaiskar said.
Though MSRDC and MEPL officials are tight-lipped, DNA has learnt that MEPL is losing at least Rs100,000 a day — thanks to VIP vehicles. “Unfortunately, it is a fact that several bureaucrats and secretaries of the state government use their official vehicles for rides on the sea link,” a senior MSRDC official said.
“Officially, neither MSRDC nor MEPL has the authority to keep a check on VIP vehicles. The General Administration Department can do it, but nothing is happening.”
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