CHENNAI: Four toll plazas on Rajiv Gandhi Salai and its link roads were closed on Monday as announced by the highways minister EV Velu last week. While the reason cited was the beginning of Metro rail works, it is reliably learnt that the State government might never again reopen the toll plazas.
Official sources said that instead of reopening the four toll plazas, the State government will compensate Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC), which maintains the road. “Toll collected from Siruseri plaza may not be sufficient to meet the expenses. We require Rs 21 crore annually for maintenance of OMR,” said a senior official from TNRDC.The closure comes as a huge relief for residents of Thoraipakkam from call taxis, which pass through internal roads for skipping toll.
S Ramachandran, a resident of Anand Nagar welcomed the decision and urged that the toll gates should not be reopened. “There have been many accidents due to the taxis plying on internal roads.” The closed toll plazas are located at Perungudi (Rajiv Gandhi Salai), Thoraipakkam (Pallavaram Radial Road) Sholinganallur (Kalainger Karunanidhi Salai) and Perumbakkam (Sholinganallur - Medavakkam road). The only operational toll plaza on the IT corridor would be at Siruseri.
However, the toll gate structures will remain to facilitate monitoring of vehicles through CCTV cameras. “The electrical infrastructure for toll collection will be removed and vehicles can pass through the lanes in the existing structure,” said the official from TNRDC.The Rajiv Gandhi Salai handles over 1.25-lakh vehicles per day and the user fee collection at four toll gates stood at Rs 17 to 18 lakh till March last year (pre-Covid). The average per day collection in August is Rs 13 lakh, said official sources.
Although there were protests for closure of the toll gates from day one, the demand gained momentum after Chennai Corporation city limits were expanded in 2011. Since then, National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), IT companies, and various residential associations have urged the government to remove the toll plazas as they fall under city limits. In December last year, DMK, then the opposition party, also took up the issue and held demonstrations.