Even as the state government has decided to continue with Pune-Mumbai Expressway toll collection, political parties seem to be gearing up to launch protests and make it an issue in the state Assembly elections, slated for later this year.
The opposition has argued that the BJP had come to power in Maharashtra in 2014 with a promising of doing away the system of collecting toll on all roads, including the expressway, but has failed to fulfil its promise.
“The government has published tenders for continuing with toll collection on the expressway. This clearly shows that it intends to continue with collection of tolls. BJP leaders, like Chandrakant Patil and Devendra Fadnavis, during the 2014 Assembly elections repeatedly promised the people of Maharashtra that they would do away with toll collection once they come to power. However, they have failed to keep their promise, except for doing away with toll collection on a few smaller roads,” AAP Pune chief Mukund Kirdat said.
Kirdat said the AAP would soon launch a statewide protest on the issue. “BJP has taken voters of Maharashtra for a ride. They have cheated the people of the state. We will now take the issue to people,” he said.
The AAP said as per an RTI query filed by the party, the contractors for the expressway and neighbouring Pune-Mumbai highway has collected Rs 2,500 crore more than what they were supposed to collect as toll tax. “As per their contract with the MSRDC, the private party has received Rs 6,000 crore by February 2019. And till July end, they will get a few hundred crore more. The total benefit they are getting is Rs 2,500 crore more than what they had expected to collect,” Kirdat said.
The city Congress unit said it will decide on the course of the protest in next two days. “We are planning to put up boards across the city pointing out that the BJP has fooled the people of Pune and Maharashtra. We will also stage protests to make people aware as to how they have been shortchanged,” city Congress spokesperson Ramesh Iyer said.
The Devendra Fadnavis government has also given a go ahead for collection of toll on the expressway, which shows their intention to continue with toll collection, he added.
The NCP, which was the first to criticise the state government’s move to invite fresh tenders for expressway toll collection, said it has asked the BJP and its government as to what happened to its promise of “toll-free Maharashtra”. “They made tall promises during 2014 election of making Maharashtra toll-free. Why are they keeping silent now?” NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said.
Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar said the party will expose the BJP’s “lie” during the election. “At every rally during the 2014 polls, they were making the same promise of making Maharashtra toll-free. And now, they are keeping the toll collection system in tact. We will expose BJP’s lie,” he said.
After the MSRDC invited fresh tenders for toll collection on expressway, BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said: “We have, as per our promise, shut down over 50 toll booths. The issue of some toll booths is sub judice.”
Sources in MSRDC had earlier told The Indian Express that they were planning to appoint an agency for 15 years or even more than that for collecting toll on the Pune-Mumbai expressway.
Vivek Velenkar, who heads the Sajag Nagarik Manch, which had alleged a Rs 1,500-crore scam in toll collection, said the issue of the expressway was before the Bombay High Court. Last week he said, the hearing was postponed by the court, which will now be heard in October.
“Our fight will continue against the toll collection…,” Velenkar, who has also written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, reminding hime of his promise to scrap expressway toll collection, said.
