NEW DELHI : Besides a slew of measures aimed at streamlining toll collection and doing way with congestion or long-waiting period at fee gates on the national highways, a parliamentary panel has directed the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) to conduct a pan-India survey to check fake toll collection points and initiate punitive action on offenders.
The case in question was a bogus toll plaza built on private land in Gujarat’s Morbi district on the Bamanbore-Kutch National Highway. The accused were extorting money from motorists and that remained unnoticed for more than a year.
The standing committee on transport, tourism and culture headed by Rajya Sabha MP V Vijayasai Reddy has also asked the ministry to conduct regular and independent audits of toll collection operations to ensure transparency and accuracy.
“Implement an oversight mechanism that reviews toll collection records and financial transactions to identify any discrepancies. The ministry should establish stringent penalties for toll plaza operators found guilty of intentional or repeated excess toll collection. Such operators should not be allowed to participate in bidding in the future,” the panel noted in its 367th report titled ‘Operation and Maintenance of National Highways and Management of Toll Plazas’, tabled in Parliament recently.
The recommendation was in response to the report on excess collection of Rs 28 crore by three toll plazas in Nathavalasa (AP), and Chalageri and Hebbalu (Karnataka).
“To check building of fake toll plazas in the country, the ministry must conduct an all-India survey for identifying such bogus toll plazas and take strict action against the culprits. The ministry must also impose stringent penalties on officials of the ministry for dereliction of their duty,” also read the report.
GPS-based tolling
The panel directed MoRTH to seek assistance from foreign countries such as Germany, Belgium and Bulgaria, where a GPS-based tolling system is in place. It however said that cyber security issues should be taken into consideration too, because GPS coordinates could be misused by some organisations.