Chandigarh:
The Haryana Government on Tuesday said it had taken a policy decision not to charge toll on roads which meet one of the five conditions including investment made on improvement of roads and annual tax collection.
A decision to this effect has been taken in a meeting of the State Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal today.
These conditions being - investment made on improvement of roads to be less than Rs 15 crore, annual tax collection less than Rs 1 crore, deferring the toll on road segments which are in very bad condition to avoid public criticism, shifting of the toll points which are in Municipal limits and closure of toll points on the roads which are subsequently notified as National highways, a release said.
As a result of this policy decision, the government has decided to close five toll plazas (TPs) on such roads which have been repaired or strengthened with an expenditure of less than Rs 15 crore or where the toll collection is less than Rs one crore.
While two toll Plazas TP-47 - Tosham to Hisar road at 26.700 kms and TP-48 - Tosham to Bhiwani road at 70 kms due to investment of less than Rs 15 crore have been decided to be closed with immediate effect.
Two Toll Plazas TP-10 Budhlada-Ratia-Fatehabad Road (near Punjab Border) and TP-20 Hansi-Tosham-Sodhiwas Road near village Sodhiwas at RD 201.00 were approved for closure respectively on August 5, 2015 and July 16, 2016 on due to toll collection of less than Rs one crore per annum.
The Toll Plaza TP-37 Ferozepur Zhirka-Biwan road was approved to be closed with effect from November 1, 2015.
This decision has been taken as it has been observed that in certain cases, expenditure incurred on improvement of roads is much less as compared to the hassles being faced by the road users, it said.