Now Reading: Commuters seek end to E-City flyover toll after concession ends
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Commuters seek end to E-City flyover toll after concession ends
Commuters in Bengaluru have launched a campaign asking Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to stop toll collection on the 9.98-km Electronics City elevated expressway, arguing that the 20-year concession period ended on September…
Commuters in Bengaluru have launched a campaign asking Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to stop toll collection on the 9.98-km Electronics City elevated expressway, arguing that the 20-year concession period ended on September 10. A petition on Change.org by Citizens For Citizens says the flyover was built by Bengaluru Elevated Tollway Limited on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis for about Rs 1,000 crore, and toll was meant to be collected only for 20 years.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said the concession period was not fixed and toll is needed for maintenance and highway development elsewhere. A senior NHAI official said the construction cost has been recovered, but there is no rule stopping toll collection after the concession ends. The official added that NHAI has proposed merging the Electronics City plaza with Attibele and stopping toll, but no decision has been taken. NHAI has re-floated a Rs 11.42-crore tender for short-term maintenance, to be opened on September 19.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The dispute highlights a recurring tension in BOT highway projects: once a concessionaire recovers its investment, the law does not automatically end tolls if the highway is transferred back to NHAI. Under NHAI's model, toll plazas on national highways can continue collecting user fees indefinitely, with revenues pooled for maintenance and cross-subsidising loss-making stretches. The commuters' petition points to NHAI's own rule requiring a 60-km gap between toll plazas on the same highway, a condition the Electronics City and Attibele plazas, 14 km apart, violate. The outcome of the September 19 tender opening and the ministry's response to the petition will determine whether commuters see relief or the toll stays.
Source: deccanherald.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
