Saturday, 16 November 2024
Saturday, 16 November 2024
Responding to a query in the Rajya Sabha.in August 2022, Nitin Gadkari, the Union road and highways minister, had said: “Fortunately or unfortunately, I am the father of this toll because for the first time in this country, I started the toll system and the first project of BOT [build-operate-transfer] was Thane in Maharashtra.”
When Gadkari was PWD minister in the Maharashtra government from 1995-99, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway project was launched and toll introduced.
The toll on the highways has now become a weapon in the hands of the trolls who are filling up social media with memes about toll collections.
New FASTag rules
New FASTag rules came into effect on August 1, it is mandatory for the vehicle users to update the KYC details by October 31 or be blacklisted. FASTags older than five years have to be replaced compulsorily. Details of the vehicle including chassis and registration numbers, user’s mobile phone number, photographs of the vehicle have to be linked to the FASTag.
The reality behind tolls
An RTI request filed by a media house last month following a complaint from a Jaipur resident revealed that Manoharpur Toll Plaza on Delhi-Jaipur Highway in Rajasthan had collected Rs 8,349 crore in toll while the construction had cost Rs 1,869 crore.
The road conditions
In July this year came media reports on the condition of three highways connecting the financial capital Mumbai to Goa, Nashik and Narendra Modi’s home turf Ahmedabad, which were found to be in pathetic condition, as most parts of the highways were still under construction. Poor condition of roads, infrequent repairs and potholes have made travel in India’s commercial capital and its surrounding areas an ordeal for those driving.
The Conspiracy Theory
The Nagpur-based Gadkari has been heading the road transport ministry in all the three terms of the Narendra Modi government. The affable Gadkari is considered a moderate in comparison to Modi and Amit Shah, both known for their aggressive posturing towards the Opposition and attempts to break the ranks of the rivals. With the BJP’s strength reduced in the Lok Sabha in the third term some political experts feel the memes are a hit job to target Gadkari and paint him as an incompetent minister.
What does Gadkari say?
Addressing top bureaucrats, highway concessionaires, technical experts and other stakeholders on June 25, Gadkari had said: “Every system has a breaking point. I have understood the breaking point in toll collection. If you go beyond that breaking point, then politically you won’t be able to collect the toll. So, in order to collect the toll, you need to maintain equilibrium; you need to provide the best quality of roads. People are driving through puddles and potholes and you are charging them toll and people curse. They don’t curse NHAI chairman or the secretary but Nitin Gadkari.”
