THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) making it clear during a high-level meeting on Saturday that it will go ahead with fee collection at the newly opened toll plaza on the Kazhakkoottam-Karode NH 66 bypass, political parties have decided to intensify their protests from Monday.
The meeting, which failed to reach a consensus, was chaired by Additional District Magistrate (ADM) E Mohammed Safeer on behalf of the district collector. NHAI project director P Pradeep, other officials and representatives of all political parties took part.
In the meeting, NHAI remained firm on its stand that it will go ahead with toll collection and will not give any waiver for local motorists. Meanwhile, the political parties stated that toll fee could be collected once the under-construction stretch from Mukkola to Karode is completed. However, the ADM told both the parties that he would inform the state government of the outcome of the meeting. The government will take further action, he said.
“NHAI is not ready to change its decision. It is going ahead with toll collection. We will not allow that and will stage protests from Monday,” said Kovalam MLA M Vincent.
Meanwhile, Pradeep told TNIE that the NHAI cannot give any waiver or stop the toll collection as Union Minister for Road, Transports and Highways Nitin Gadkari has already made it clear that the toll will be collected for the completed stretch.
“We will continue to collect the toll. The demand by the political parties that the toll could be collected only after opening the stretch up to Karode is not possible. We are following the rules. However, we will also discuss with the higher officials on the further steps to be taken,” he said. On Saturday, Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of BJP, joined the protest against toll collection. Earlier, the Congress and CPM had been staging protests against the move to collect toll fee.
On Friday, Gadkari, in a letter to MP Shashi Tharoor, stated that the user fee notification provided for a monthly pass of `285 for local non-commercial vehicles of those residing within 20 km of the toll plaza is valid. However, the minister never mentioned any point to waive off the toll for local residents.
“User fee for these two packages will be collected on Thiruvallam toll plaza for the completed stretch only. Hence, at present, user fee for the 26.5 km length of completed stretch of Kazhakoottam to Mukkola will be collected at Thiruvallam fee plaza,” the letter stated.
He also pointed out that the bypass project was being implemented in two packages, that is the completed stretch from Kazhakoottam to Mukkola and another from Mukkola to Karode along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Gadkari said 94 per cent of the second phase work was completed and was targeted to be finished by December. The protest by the political parties started on Tuesday when the NHAI attempted to start toll collection. On Friday, Youth Congress workers gheraoed the NHAI project director.