Maharashtra govt all set to compensate toll contractors

Mumbai:The state government will compensate infrastructure companies collecting tolls in the state which has been waived off for motorists for the time being following the Centre’s demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes since November 9.

The state government has asked contractors to send in their claims, estimating their loss, for the same. The compensation has to be given to contractors, as it is part of the concession agreements signed with each contractor. On an average Rs 10 crore is collected daily from different tollbooths around the state.

 “The compensation from the state government does not necessarily have to be in cash but can also be in terms of extending concession period for the days when the toll collection was put on stay by the government,” said an official from the public works department (PWD).

On November 9, ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) announced that highways would be toll free up to November 18. However, considering the situation, the exemption limit was extended till November 24. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to compensate Rs 700 crore to contractors who come under their ambit.

“We will take opinion on the same from the Central government and also will check as to how do they compensate toll the contractors under the jurisdiction of NHAI. For now, we are looking at normalising the situation that has arisen following the demonetisation and once we receive the claims from the contractors we will scrutinise them,” said Chandrakant Patil, PWD minister.

In the state there are around 41 tollbooths of which 27 are under the PWD and the remaining14 are under the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

Radheshyam Mopalwar, managing director, MSRDC, said, “If the government compensates the contractors, the estimated cost would be around Rs 4.5 crore daily which is the amount collected daily by contractors of tollbooths under the MSRDC.”