No Tolls For Bad Roads: Supreme Court On National Highway Toll Dispute
The toll collection system in India is complex. Tolls are essentially the fee that we pay to use a well-built section of a highway, a fly over , bridge, or other infrastructure. Sometimes, we are forced to pay tolls even in the absence of promised deliverables- good quality roads or other infrastucture. Kerala's Paliyekkara toll plaza is a classic example. Situated in the Thrissur district, this plaza levies Rs 90 for a single trip and Rs 140 for a round trip from cars and SUVs. The roads here are in poor shape and the Kerala High Court had previously asked to suspend toll collection citing the same. Now, the honourable Supreme Court (SC) of India has also made a comment on the issue, backing the state high court (HC), and making it clear that citizens need not pay tolls for poorly-built roads...
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and its concessionaire Guruvayoor Infrastructure Ltd (which operates the plaza) approached the Supreme court with an appeal against the HC ruling.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran, dismissed these and echoed HC’s criticism of NHAI over the national highway’s "terrible condition."
The Paliyekkara toll plaza collects the fee for using the Edappally-Mannuthy stretch of National Highway 544. This section of the highway is used by thousands of motorists every day. It is, however, in pityful condition now.
The monsoons and the ongoing national highway construction have both made it nearly unusable. The miserable shape of this highway often slows down traffic, causes congestion and makes the travel time spike.
Days ago, this stretch had made headlines after a massive 12-hour traffic jam developed on it, causing major inconvenience and discomfort to motorists. The bench pointed to reports of these, during arguments.
"Why should a person pay Rs 150 if it takes 12 hours for him to get from one end of the road to the other end? A road which is expected to take one hour, it takes 11 more hours and they have to pay toll as well!" Chief Justice Gavai asked.
Justice Chandran also remarked that both judges have personally experienced the delays caused by this stretch.
Image source: PTI
Following a previous petition from commuters, the Kerala High Court had ordered to suspend the toll collection for four weeks. "Toll fees cannot be collected from the public when access to the highway is hindered due to ill-maintained roads and consequent traffic congestion,"- said the ruling.
"It is to be remembered that the public is obliged to pay the user fees at the toll for using the highway. It casts responsibility on the National Highways Authority to ensure smooth traffic without any barrier created by the NHAI or by its agents, who are the concessionaires.
This relationship between the public and the NHAI is bound by the tie of public trust. The moment it is breached or violated, the right to collect toll fees from the public created through statutory provisions cannot be forced on the public."
On Friday, the commuters on the Edapally-Mannuthy stretch faced ended up in a miserable state when a 12-hour long traffic jam developed, which stretched as far as Muringoor as time went by. The queue of vehicles continued to grow and drivers soon started reporting fuel shortages as well. Those headed for the airport and hospitals were the most affected.
On Friday, a truck carrying timber, travelling from Pattambi to Perumbavoor, fell into a ditch on the service road, near Muringoor. The area currently has an underpass under construction. This sparked the traffic chaos which went on for the next 12 hours.
The timber from the truck and the debris were all over the place, obstructing traffic. The police, fire force and locals had to work hard to clear these and replace the traffic flow. However, congestion worsened again, and it took over 12 hours for things to get back to normal. In Kerala, the highway construction is very challenging. In many places, there are severe infrastructure and area shortages which make it difficult for motorists to commute when the work is in progress.