Relief from the five toll points in Mumbai and Mumbai-Pune Expressway would still be a distant dream, as the state government said it was not financially viable to close down the tolls. If the state is supposed to close down only these tolls, it will have to incur losses of Rs 10,000 crore for the Mumbai-Pune Expressway alone and another Rs 7,000 crore for the five city tollbooths.
Also, the recently closed tolls in Kolhapur city have caused losses of Rs 400 crore to the state exchequer.
Bowing to public opinion, the government had carried out lot of exercises and internal discussions on closing down tollbooths at Mumbai entry point and also the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. But the public works department (PWD), finance and planning departments are not in favour of closing down the tolls completely and giving exemption to light motor vehicles. This was revealed by officials in the CMO.
“There has been a public outcry over tolls, but it is the only way to maintain the roads. We will have to bear huge financial losses if we close down any tollbooth. For Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the losses will be around Rs 10,000 crore and for Mumbai toll points it will be Rs 7,000 crore. The question is if are we ready to bear the financial burden. On the other hand, we have lot of other social issues where the fund requirement is much more,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
Citing the example of Kolhapur city where tolls were closed down incurring a loss to the tune of Rs 400 crore, the official said the government was unable to decide which department should bear the burden — PWD or urban development, he added.
Also, pointing towards the technical difficulties in closing tollbooths, the official said it would send a wrong impression to companies which are constructing roads. “It is a fact that we have to take help from private players to build and maintain roads. But cancelling the agreement with them would send wrong signals to companies that are willing to work with the government,” he said.
The official admitted that public harassment existed due to unaccountability at tollbooths and said the government has already taken measures to bring in transparency.
