Rs 2,731 crore toll revenue lost due to farmers’ stir, RS told

NEW DELHI: Farmers protest caused around Rs 2,731 crore toll revenue loss to NHAI since October last year, the road transport ministry told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
In a written reply, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said initially the toll plazas in Punjab were made non-operational by agitating farmers and it eventually spread to entire Haryana and neighbouring Punjab. He said both Punjab and Haryana governments had assured full cooperation for resumption of toll collection at the affected toll plazas in their respective states.
“However, toll operation could not be started. Further, the NHAI invited bids for 14 non-operational fee plazas in Rajasthan based on assurance from local administration and two such plazas were bid out. However, these plazas could not be operated due to protest,” he said in the written reply. In another reply in Lok Sabha, the railway ministry also said the farmers’ agitation impacted the train operation and caused losses amounting to crores of rupees.