HC tells PWD to submit data on E-way traffic

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has asked the public works department (PWD) to place on record all data pertaining to vehicles passing toll plazas on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. The order came after the petitioner told the court that as per an independent PWD survey, the contractor had already retrieved the Rs 1362 crore compensation amount recommended by a committee to decide if the contract could be terminated prematurely.

A division bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Riyaz Chagla was hearing PILs filed by four activists regarding toll collection on the Mumbai-Pune e-way and terminating the contract as the contractor had recovered the sum of Rs 2869 crore assured to him in December 2016 before expiry of the 15-year contract. The petitioners sought directions to the state to take over the toll plazas as allowing the contractor to continue would be tantamount to letting him pocket wrongful gains.

A petitioner, Pravin Wategaonkar, said that based on the survey, the contractor had already recovered the amount. He pointed out that  it was clear that the contractor was trying to under-report the toll income in the name of exemption. The court said that the government should look into the allegations and sought that the PWD survey be submitted Wednesday.