Will torch booth if toll reimposed for bad road in Thane, says Union minister Kapil Patil

Enraged by the bad condition of a road in Maharashtra's Thane district, local BJP MP and Union Minister Kapil Patil on Tuesday said he would himself torch the toll booth if the state government resumed collecting the road tax without repairing the "pothole-riddled" section.

Speaking at a function in Bhiwandi where he was felicitated for being appointed Union minister of state for Panchayati Raj, Patil said internal roads in the township, as well as highways passing by, are in a pathetic condition, especially the roads going towards Mumbai, Nashik, Thane, Chinchoti and Kalyan.

Patil said he had learnt from state PWD officials that toll collection on the "pothole-filled" Bhiwandi-Wada road was to resume soon. "If the toll naka is started without repairing the road, I will first set it on fire," the Bhiwandi MP said.

He said Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had given in-principle approval to convert the Bhiwandi-Wada road into a highway, but the plan got stuck as the toll collection company for the stretch approached court, and a sum of Rs 500 crore may have to be given to it, which is a huge financial burden on the state.

To tide over this problem, the state PWD was planning to start toll collection again, Patil claimed, adding that if the stretch was handed over to the Central government, he would ensure it is converted into a cement concrete one that would last for over 35 years.

Patil said he would meet Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, state PWD Minister Ashok Chavan and Thane Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde to convince them of the need to hand over the Bhiwandi-Wada road to the Union government