JOIN USGovt-NHAI face-off over toll booth
The project by Navyuga Engineering, is being executed on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis and revenue from the toll booth is expected to provide returns to the operator for the Rs 630-crore project.
According to the NHAI, shifting of the toll booth would be unviable for the contractor as he would have to forego significant revenue from those travelling to the airport. “In that case, the State government would have to intervene, and either provide some funding for the project or cancel the project and compensate the contractors”, the source said.
Ironically, it was the State government that handed over the project to the NHAI to build an elevated expressway.
Earlier this year, the BDA had handed over the Hebbal flyover to the NHAI for making it six-lane wide. The subsequent plan to build a signal-free corridor from Hebbal to the airport was also made at the same time.
The NHAI had also nixed a plan to build a toll booth near Chikballapur instead of the current location after the contract was signed with Navyuga.
The earlier plan comprised two toll booths -- one near Chikballapur and another at Bagepalli on the Andhra Pradesh border. “The toll booth near Chikballapur was nixed as it would have left the contractor with limited revenue”, the NHAI official added.
When Deccan Herald contacted Navyuga Engineering Ltd, an officer said that the toll booth has been constructed strictly as per the conditions laid out in its agreement with NHAI. “We are implementing the agreement as entered into between the NHAI and our company”, an official said.
To a question on whether the project would be shelved, he said that the matter would be taken up by senior management.