The introduction of the revised user fee at the Ponnarimangalam toll plaza on the Container Terminal Road is likely to witness public resistance.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced that the revised user fee will come into effect from April 1. Residents and container lorry operators had earlier protested against the user fee.
Going by the revised tariff plan, people with non-commercial vehicles living within 20-km radius of the toll plaza can get a monthly pass on payment of ₹265.
All other cars, jeeps, vans and light motor vehicles will have to pay ₹50 as fee for single trip and ₹75 if they complete return trip the same day. On a monthly basis, such vehicles have to pay ₹1,640 for 50 trips. All commercial vehicles registered in this category will attract additional fee ranging from ₹25 to ₹160 depending on their classification. The NHAI has also hiked fee for light commercial and light goods vehicles, commercial vehicles with multiple axles and over-sized vehicles.
‘Unacceptable’
The user fee proposed for people residing in the vicinity of toll plaza was unacceptable, said Mulavukad panchayat president Viji Shajan. The panchayat had earlier demanded that the vehicles of Mulavukad residents and those of people coming to the panchayat be excluded from the ambit of the user fee. The demand was raised at a meeting convened by the District Collector recently, she added.
Container Terminal Monitoring Committee convener Charles George has sought the intervention of the Chief Minister in the issue.
The NHAI has hiked the user fee at a time when various stakeholders have been demanding a rollback of the earlier tariff. The existing rates will force multi-axle vehicles to shell out around ₹2,500 a day.
Though there was an offer earlier to provide free parking for vehicles, each vehicle would be charged around ₹300 a day as parking fee, he said.