As majority of drivers use FASTag facility, they noticed the change only after receiving SMS alerts from their bank showing the new charge.
Bengaluru-Mysuru Express Highway new toll fare. (SouthFirst)
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) silently hiked toll charges by 22 percent for commuters using the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway since 1 June. There were no circulars from the department, official notifications, or even newspaper notifications/advertisements indicating the revised toll fares.
As a majority of drivers use the FASTag facility, they noticed the change only after receiving the SMS alerts from their bank. It is only then that they noticed that they have been charged more than the usual toll fare.
Taxi driver Chikkaswamy told South First, “Several of us who travelled through the Sheshagirihalli toll plaza got to know that the toll fares have been revised only after receiving SMS alerts, which showed the rates were more than that mentioned. We are using FASTag and before 1 June, only ₹135 was being deducted from our FASTag account, but after 1 June, ₹165 was being deducted.”
As per the revised toll fare charges, cars will have to pay ₹165 for a single journey and ₹250 if they are returning the same day (double-way charge). Previously, the rates were ₹135 for a single journey and ₹205 for return trip on the same day.
K Radhakrishna Holla, President of the Karnataka State Travel Operators’ Association, said that this amounts to looting the public in broad daylight.
“According to the National Highway Users’ Fee Rules, 2008, notification, the toll collection should be operational for at least one quarter of the financial year before revising the fee,” Holla told South First.
“This express highway was inaugurated on 12 March this year and the toll collection commenced on 14 March. The toll fee was hiked in two weeks and then rolled back. Now, they have again silently started collecting the tolls through FASTag. In the name of election code of conduct, they increased and rolled it back, now this is happening,” Holla added.
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) issued a notification on 27 March, revising the toll fare for the Bengaluru-Mysuru Express Highway, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12 March 2023. NHAI has been collecting tolls since 14 March.
The authority said that the toll fare would be revised every financial year based on the wholesale price index.
The collection of the hiked toll fare at the Kaniminike-Sheshagirihalli toll plaza has sparked protests.
Besides motorists, the Opposition and pro-Karnataka outfits too protested against the high toll fares. Several motorists expressed their ire at the 22 percent hike.
About four to five lakh vehicles ply the Bengaluru-Mysuru Express Highway on a daily basis.
Member of Parliament for Mysuru and Kodagu Pratap Simha defended the government’s action of increasing the toll fares.
“Every start of the financial year, toll fares would be revised. Bengaluru-Mysuru Express Highway work was over by 15 March and it was open for public recently. On 1 April there was a revision, but I had spoken to the NHAI officials to roll it back for some time,” Simha said.
“Now, they have resumed collecting the decided toll fare. I will speak to the NHAI officials and figure out what can be done best in public interest,” he added.
However, Karnataka State Goods Transport Federation President Naveen Reddy said that the toll collection cannot be justified at all.
“Any hike when a new toll road is opened can happen only after nine months, but in this case they have done it just like that when it is yet to see any amenities as per law — vehicle laybys, petrol bunks, puncture repair shops, restrooms, telephone booths, ambulance,” Reddy told South First.
“The road is not at all safe. Look at the number of accidents and the deaths that have happened from the time it opened,” Reddy added.
May 11, 2024
May 11, 2024
May 11, 2024
May 11, 2024
May 11, 2024
May 11, 2024
