JOIN USBe ready to pay toll on SHs from January
Public Works Department Minister C M Udasi told reporters here on Thursday that about 1,500 kms of State Highways upgraded recently under the Karnataka State Highway Improvement Project-I (KSHIP-1), will be converted into toll roads from January 1, 2011. The responsibility of toll collection will be entrusted to private agencies, which will also be in-charge of the maintenance of these roads, he added.
Official sources said important routes like Srirangapattana-Bidar, Raichur-Bachi, Bijapur-Shankeshwar and Basavakalyan-Raichur will be toll roads. However, the department is still in the process of identifying State Highways where toll collection is feasible. The proposal in this regard will soon be placed before the State cabinet which will take a final call on it.
According to sources roads where the minimum volume is more than 10,000 passenger car per unit (PCU) are being identified for toll collection. Toll plazas will be set up for every 50 kms on these stretches. A revenue sharing model between the government and private agencies will soon be worked out since private agencies choose only profit-generating roads for maintenance.
Further, the Minister said the government plans to convert all 3,400 kms of State Highway that was developed under the KSHIP-1 in the State. “About 1,500 kms will be covered under the first phase. Remaining 1,900 kms will be included in the second phase. The government is likely to get a revenue of Rs 500 crore per annum through toll on 3,400 kms,” he added.
The Asian Development Bank has sanctioned Rs 1,500 crore loan to upgrade nine important roads, covering 636 kms, in the State. The loan will be at 6 percent interest repayable in 20 years. Toll collection has also been proposed on these roads after upgradation, he added.
The nine roads are: Magadi-Dabaspet-Koratagere (66 kms), Pavagad-Andra Pradesh boundary (23 kms), Gubbi-Chandrashekarapura-Beeragondanahalli-Yediyuru (108 kms), Jagaluru -NH-13 (14 kms), Padubidri-Karkala (27 kms), Davanagere-Santebennuru-Channagiri (105 kms), Selavadi-Gadag-Mundargi (72 kms), Mudgal-Tavarekere-Kanakagiri-Gangavati (74 kms), Savadati-Kollakatti-Ramadurga-Badami-Pattanakallu-Kamatagi (136 kms).
Asked about the vexed Shiradi Ghat road, the Minister replied that a proposal to upgrade the road into a four-lane is pending before the National Highway Authority of India. “The State Public Works Department asphalted the road twice in the past. Now, the NHAI will have to take the decision to put an end to this problem,” he stated.
Pothole filling
The PWD will start filling potholes on State Highways soon after rain subsides in the State. An estimated Rs 200 crore will be spent for the purpose, Udasi said.