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Court order halts toll collection on airport road

Last Updated 05 April 2012, 19:55 IST

Vehicles travelled without stoppages at toll gates on the NH-7 (Bangalore-Bellary Road) leading to Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) on Thursday as collection of toll was suspended following a local court order on Tuesday.

The Principal Civil Judge in a Devanahalli civil court, after hearing a petition against Navyug Constructions and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), had ordered that no toll should be collected from the public till the case is disposed of.

Four lawyers, who had filed the petition, had argued that toll was a burden on the public, particularly farmers who use the road to transport agricultural produce. The road to BIA, they said, also led to various parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The advocates had also said that the toll plaza should not have been built within the City limits and toll should have been collected only after the completion of revamping of the road.

The fee for cars, jeeps and light motor vehicles is Rs 20 and Rs 25 (single journey and return trip within 24 hours). Two-wheelers, three-wheelers and tractors are exempted from paying the toll.

Officials from Navyug Constructions told Deccan Herald that they suspended toll collection by noon on Tuesday as soon as they received a copy of the court order. “We have stopped it for now. We do not know how the case will end and other options can be thought of only after that,” one of the officials said.

R K Gupta, Project Director, NHAI, said: “The law will take its course. We will have to wait.” The NHAI is not opposed to the idea of moving a higher court in case the court rules in favour of the petitioners, preventing the collection of toll.

Commuters, however, were happy with the court order as the movement of vehicles was smoother than earlier and also it saved them money.

“Sometimes it would take almost five to ten minutes at these gates during the peak hour and added to that was the fact that we had to pay,” said Ramamurthy, who frequently travels between Chikkaballapur and Bangalore.

Cab drivers in the City welcomed the court order and hoped that the court would favour them in the final verdict too.

Several cab drivers had protested against the plaza being set up within the City limits, but the toll collection had begun on February 13.

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(Published 05 April 2012, 19:55 IST)

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