From April 1, motorists will have to pay Rs 230 as toll on Expressway

Toll on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway will take a further toll on your pocket quite literarily as the rates will be increased from April 1. All vehicles passing using the route will have to pay at least 18% more

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Toll on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway will take a toll on your pocket quite literarily as the rates will be increased from April 1. All vehicles passing through the expressway would have to pay at least 18% more, according to a recent government notification. The toll for motorists, starting next month, will be Rs 230 as opposed to the earlier Rs 195.

According to a report in the Times of India, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd officials informed that the Maharashtra government had issued a notification in 2004 over the 18% toll rise every three years, starting 2005.

The report added that four RTI activists, including Pune's Vivek Velankar and Sanjay Shirodkar, had made a demand to the state to end toll collection on the expressway. Their argument was that the government had recovered funds to build the expressway's construction and that both the state and the IRB had made enough profits. "There will be repercussions if the toll goes up," Velankar told the paper.

The report further added that, earlier in the month, the activists had filed a complaint with the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) demanding criminal proceedings against ministers and MSRDC officials.

A senior MSRDC official told the paper that almost half the contract period was lost in recovering the compounding interest on the loan and the remaining in repaying the principal amount within a shorter period, which gave the contractor some profits. IRB officials also claimed that the assumption of costs incurred on project being recovered were wrong.

What about safety?
On expected lines, the expressway commuters are opposing the rise in toll. Anil Mani, who frequently travels on the expressway, was quoted as saying in the paper, "There is no fencing or a compound wall along the entire expressway. Recently, a leopard was killed near Ozarde. There is complete darkness at night.”

Another commuter, who uses the expressway, Mangesh Kulkarni, also expressed safety concerns. "Any vehicle can hit other vehicles coming from the opposite direction. There are no steel ropes along the median. During the monsoon, it is a nightmare to travel on the expressway,” he told the paper.

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