HYDERABAD: No more relief to the vehicles plying on Outer Ring Road (ORR) stretch as the Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited (HGCL), a wing of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has given green signal to the toll collecting agency to collect toll charges from Tuesday.
This move comes even as the Union ministry of road transport and highways extended the suspension of toll tax on all the National Highways across the country till November 18 midnight.
On average 60,000 to 65,000 vehicles ply on the ORR stretch daily and about Rs 30 lakh is collected as toll charges at 19 interchanges on the ORR. Since the suspension of toll tax collections, the toll collecting agency M/s Eagle Infra India Limited has incurred a loss of Rs 1.80 crore.
The Centre would reimburse the loss due to non-collection of toll fee to the ministry of road transport and highways but same is not the case with ORR as the stretch does not come under the purview of the Union ministry.
A day after the PM announced ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, ministry of road transport and highways announced not to collect toll fee till November 11 midnight. The deadline was later extended till November 14 midnight and further to November 18 midnight.
HGCL/HMDA has decided to suspend collection of toll tax on the ORR stretch up till last night to ensure smooth traffic movement and avoid inconvenience to the people at toll plazas.
With losses mounting with each passing day, HMDA has permitted the private agency to collect toll fee from Tuesday, HMDA officials told Express.
Of the total 158 km ORR stretch, toll tax is being collected for 156.9 km except for 1.1 km at Kandlakoya near Medchal on the city outskirts where trumpet interchange flyover is being constructed.