HC issues notices for not issuing tickets for 24 hrs at Kherki Daula toll plaza

The Punjab and Haryana high court had issued a ‘Notice of Motion’ to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the Union government and the Millennium City Expressways, which manages the Kherki Daula toll plaza, after the court took cognisance of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against the toll management for not issuing tickets valid for 24 hours. The court had given time until January 21 for all the three parties to reply in this case.

Two weeks after the High Court had issued a notice, the National Highway Authority of India replied by stating that the NHAI is an executive agency of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highway, which has been set up for the development, management and maintenance of the highways.

Allegedly denying the allegations the letter written to the High Court read: “These projects are governed by the cash committees or the Expenditure Finance Committee.”

But on the contrary, RTI activist Aseem Takyar, who filed the PIL, said: “A NHAI notification states that there should be 24-hour valid ticket pattern, but the Kherki Daula toll plaza is issuing tickets only for a single journey. For instance, if I go to Manesar, I have to spend Rs 60… while coming back to Gurgaon, I have to again pay Rs 60. As per the notification, the toll authorities should charge only Rs 80 to Rs 85 for the return journey and the ticket should be valid for 24 hours.”

Although, under the guidelines provided under rule 7(4), that when the same vehicle has to cross the toll more than once in a day, the user shall have the option to pay one and a half time price notified by the government or can get a monthly pass equal to the charges of 30 such single rides.

When contacted an official from the NHAI, he said that the NHAI had entered into an agreement with the toll maintenance company in 1997, when there was no such issue or provision for multiple entry on one ticket. These provisions were brought in later which are not applicable to the agreement that the NHAI had made with Kherki Daula toll plaza.