Manohar Lal Khattar, the chief minister of Haryana, declared that the Kherki Daula toll plaza on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway will be demolished within the next two to three months, adding that his government is seeking options for its removal.
Khattar made the statement on the sidelines of an event in Gurugram’s Sector 79, and stated that he discussed the matter with Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday.
“The Haryana government is working to shift the Kherki Daula toll plaza, and I discussed this with the Union transport minister.” The traffic congestion is the biggest issue at this toll plaza, which creates significant pollution.
Most people do not mind paying tolls, and the elimination of toll gates is being actively considered. This relocation will take two to three months, according to Khattar. The CM further stated that the toll plaza will be relocated to Panchgaon or the Dwarka Expressway.
Khattar also stated that the highway ministry intends to adopt satellite-based technology, which would eliminate the need for a physical toll plaza at Kherki Daula. Gadkari stated on Thursday that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is developing on a GPS-based system that will allow toll fees to be collected directly through FaSTags.
When queried about the removal of the toll plaza, Gadkari underlined that motorists would have to pay a toll on highways because the NHAI needs funds to maintain the roads.
Gurugram residents are angry over the Kherki Daula toll plaza because the private operator’s 15-year concession arrangement to collect tolls on the highway terminated in January of this year.
Following that, the concessionaire was given an extra two months to compensate for the loss caused by the Covid-19 epidemic, and the toll plaza was handed over to a private toll operator in March. Following the conclusion of the concession agreement, the Union transport ministry designated the Kherki Daula toll plaza as a publicly sponsored toll plaza.
Because the concessionaire agreement has expired and residents have paid toll for 15 years, city residents have demanded that the toll plaza be removed and relocated. According to Pravin Malik, president of the United Association of New Gurugram, it is unreasonable for Gurugram residents to continue paying the toll after the concession arrangement expired and the cost of construction and capital utilised had been recovered.
Source-Hindustan Times
