COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu State Highways Department's and Tamil Nadu State Highways Authority's (TANSHA) plan to set up toll booths along the under-construction Western Ring Road in Coimbatore has stirred public anger, with industrialists, social activists, and residents condemning the move.
The 32.43-kilomere-long Western Ring Road, designed to ease city traffic by diverting heavy vehicle flow around Coimbatore, is being implemented in three phases. Phase 1 of the project, stretching 11.80 km from Mykal to Madampatti and passing through areas like Madukkarai, Sundakkamuthur, Perur Chettipalayam, and Theethipalayam, is nearing completion. Work on this stretch, launched in August 2023 at a cost of Rs 250 crore, is expected to finish by September this year.
However, even before the completion of the first phase, officials of the Tamil Nadu State Highways Department have reportedly been planning to install toll plazas. This decision has come under fire, especially as the State Government has been advocating for the removal of toll plazas on national highways in Tamil Nadu, a stand now seen as contradictory.
"The government cannot have double standards. On one side, they oppose tolls on national highways, but here they are trying to toll a state road built using public money," said R Selvaraj, a local trader in Madampatti. "This road is meant to decongest our city, not to burden us with fees."
The Western Ring Road project traverses 15 revenue villages in the district, eventually connecting Mylkal on the Salem-Cochin Road (SHU 52) to Narasimhanaickenpalayam on the Nagapattinam-Gudalur-Mysore Road (NH 67).
The second phase, covering 12.10 km from Madampatti to Somayampalayam, via Vadavalli, is estimated to cost Rs 348 crore, with tender processes set to begin after fund allocation. The third and final phase, spanning 8.09 km, will pass through Pannimadai, Nanjundapuram, Kurudampalayam, and Gudalur.
Social activists argue that tolling the road will have a disproportionate impact on daily commuters and small-scale businesses. Residents also fear that the toll booths will encourage motorists to return to internal city roads, defeating the purpose of the bypass.
"This is a state highway, not an expressway funded by private investment. The public should not be made to pay repeatedly through taxes and again in tolls. The entire point of the ring road is to ease traffic inside the city. If people avoid it because of tolls, we are back to square one," said B Prabhu, a local activist.
As the backlash grows, local stakeholders are urging the government to reconsider the toll proposal and prioritise public interest over revenue generation.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior official from the Special Projects Wing of the State Highways Department in Coimbatore Division said, "A few weeks ago, officials from the Tamil Nadu State Highways Authority (TANSHA), which has been formed after the restructuring of the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company Limited (TNRDC), has been taking a survey of three ring roads across the state which includes Hosur Outer Ring Road, Tirunelveli Bypass Road and the Western Ring Road in Coimbatore.
Currently, the purpose of the survey has not been revealed. However, once the survey ends, the TANSHA might suggest collecting a toll fee from the vehicles on these roads. Currently, we don't have any plans to install toll booths or collect tolls from motorists. Those are policy decisions that need to be made by the government."