Why govt does not want to end toll tax

Mumbai: Activists have cast aspersions on the government’s reluctance to scrap toll collection on the expressway even though the contractor has allegedly collected the amount he was promised and is now making pecuniary gains, which should have actually gone into the government’s coffers.

Activists have further alleged that the affinity of key ruling party leaders with the contractor could be one of the reasons behind the government’s lethargy to take serious action against IRB, the company which has the toll collection contract on the Mumbai Pune Expressway since 2004. Speaking to The Asian Age, activist Pravin Wategaonkar, who has filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay high court against the  irregularities in toll collection said, “There have been reports in the past that key ruling party leaders have a relation with the contractors, which may be one of the reasons why the government is turning a blind eye to the representations on the operation of the contract.”

Earlier, activist Vivek Velankar had approached the State Chief Information Commissioner seeking directions to the MSRDC and PWD to make known toll collection data on their websites. Initially there was reluctance on the part of the authorities, but the activist’s perseverance ensured that data of almost all toll booths was uploaded, with the exception of the Mumbai-Pune E-way and Mumbai Entry Points.