20 new toll plazas to come up in Tamil Nadu in two years

CHENNAI: Here is a poll promise given by both the ruling DMK and the principal opposition AIADMK that resonates loudly with almost all voters in the State: removing toll plazas from highways. The promise is all the more relevant for the average person, as 20 more new tolls are set to come up in Tamil Nadu in the next two years.

Both the ruling DMK and the principal opposition AIADMK have promised this in their election manifesto for the 18th Lok Sabha polls, which has come amid protests and resistance from the public against the opening of the new toll plazas in various parts of the State.

According to the National Highways Authority of India, Tamil Nadu has 65 toll plazas. Of them, 12 new toll plazas were opened in the last three years, the latest being Velampatti toll plaza on Avinashi Tirupur Avinashipalayam section of NH 381 which started functioning on March 1.

The Parali Pudur toll plaza on Madurai Chettikulam Natham Thuvarankurichi section of NH 785 started collecting user fees from February 8. A four-wheeler passing the toll has to pay a user fee of a whopping Rs 180 per trip, which is the highest in the State. Its commercial operation was delayed due to strong opposition from the local people. After the opening in February, the toll plaza was ransacked by irate motorists on March 6.

Despite the strong opposition to the existing tolls, 20 new toll plazas, including six on the Bengaluru Chennai Expressway, three each on the Chittoor-Thatchur Expressway, Vikravandi-Sethiyathope-Cholapuram-Thanjavur on NH 36, Villupuram to Nagapattinam on ECR, and Hosur Dharmapuri section on NH 844 will be opened in the next two to three years, sources told DT Next.

When asked, a senior NHAI official said toll plazas are set up as per the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008.

But it is not just the NHAI that is guilty of setting up the facility. Even as it demanded the Union government to close down five toll plazas around the city, the State government opened four new toll plazas on the Outer Ring road connecting Vandalur to Minjur. The toll collection will begin when the work on the 133-km Chennai Peripheral Ring Road is completed.

C Dhanaraj, president, State Lorry Owners Federation (SLOF), said the federation has been demanding the Union government to accept a one-time payment or yearly payment from truckers instead of the user fee collected at toll plazas.

Unwilling to take the poll promise at face value, he recalled how Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had promised to remove toll from roads where the capital cost has been recovered and also the toll plazas within a 60-km radius. Both promises were not implemented.

Dhanaraj added that Gadkari was now proposing a GPS-based toll collection which would result in any vehicles entering a toll road to pay charges. "Now, the user fee would be collected only when the vehicle crosses the toll plaza. If the GPS-based system is implemented, the vehicle entering the toll road will be charged for the distance travelled. It will be a huge burden on all the motorists," he added.