NHAI toll ends free airport ride

NHAI has already commissioned the construction of temporary toll booths at Sadarahalli Gate that leads to BIA while the permanent toll plaza will come up sometime later. Sources said the toll will be levied on the stretch between Hebbal and Devanahalli and the charges will be in line with the National Highway Fees (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008.

“The rates are slated to be uniform as prescribed in the rule book for all NHAI roads across the country,” they added. A senior official pointed out that the decision to levy toll was made as early as two years ago but an integrated NHAI project between Yelahanka and Devanahalli saw it being deferred.

Sources state the toll was likely to be levied towards the end of December or the beginning of January. “However, the NHAI is likely to place an advertisement 10 days prior to embarking upon toll collection,” the sources informed.

The construction of the temporary toll plaza will miss its November 25 deadline and will hamper the NHAI’s plans of collecting toll from December 1. Bhanu, a supervisor with Navayuga Devanahalli Toll Plaza Limited, the firm that bagged the construction contract, told Deccan Herald that the work will be finished only in the next 30-45 days and it was unlikely that the deadline would be met as only about 40 per cent of the civil construction was complete so far. To many people, especially truck and taxi drivers, the decision to impose toll makes no sense.

Financial burden
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Bangalore Tourist Taxi Owners’ Association vice-president K Radhakrishnan Holla said more than 25,000 taxies ply to and fro the airport everyday and toll charges will cause a huge financial burden for the vehicle owners.
Assessing that the toll might be in the range of Rs 45-Rs 50, Holla urged the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to intervene. “As the airport comes under the authority of the State government and within the City limits, we want the BBMP to intervene and take immediate action against the construction of the toll plaza,” he said.