Difference in toll booth records by MSRDC, MEPID

Toll booth records at five Mumbai entry points are under reported, a Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed.

A comparison between traffic data by Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and Mumbai Entry Points Infrastructure Developers (MEPID), which operates toll booths at entry points of the city, reveals that MEPID has been under reporting average daily traffic (ADT) on the basis of which traffic data is determined.

RTI and toll activist, Sanjay Shirodkar, said, “In July 2015, MSRDC had done a videography count and also data of videography was submitted by MEPIB of five entry toll booths of Mumbai namely Vashi toll booth, Mulund toll booth at Eastern Express Highway (EEH), Dahisar toll booth, Airoli toll booth and Mulund toll booth on LBS Marg.”

After comparing the traffic data provided by MSRDC and MEPID, Mr Shirodkar found that toll collection at five entry points is being under reported by 27 to 50 per cent. “As per the videography report submitted by MSRDC in July 2015, it has been estimated that on an annual basis, there will be a loss of Rs 6,260 crore of the working population of Mumbai which in a way affects the economy of the state. On the other hand, the estimated toll collection from light motor vehicles (LMVs) is Rs 222 crore from all five entry points of the city,” said Mr Shirodkar.

The report by MSRDC also stated that it should be decided whether toll should be closed or whether there should be continuation of toll on the highly competitive workforce travelling in LMVs for a highly service-oriented place like Mumbai.

“In order to generate a revenue of Rs 222 crore and by wasting time of LMV vehicles that spend four minutes each time they pass via a toll booth, the state economy loses revenue of Rs 6,260 crore,” said Mr Shirodkar. However, this newspaper did not receive any response from officials of MSRDC and MEPID when asked about the difference after comparing data.