While the Navayuga Udupi Tollway Pvt., Ltd., was all geared up to collect toll at three plazas on the four-laned National Highway 66 between Talapady and Kundapura from Tuesday at midnight, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) put the proposal on hold temporarily.
The concessionaire had issued a detailed advertisement providing details of the toll fee in a vernacular daily that appeared on Tuesday. However, Z. Samson Vijay Kumar, NHAI Project Director, told The Hindu that the proposal was put on hold for a couple of days since Deputy Commissioners of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts were attending a meeting in Bengaluru.
Local users
The concessionaire/NHAI has offered monthly passes to users of non-commercial vehicles residing within a distance of a particular toll plaza at the rate of ₹235 till March 2017, after which the rates may be revised.
Similarly, monthly passes for other categories of vehicles for 50 single journeys or more in a month are also under offer.
NITK Plaza
There is no word about the merger of NITK Surathkal toll plaza with that of Hejamady as of now. Users are paying a hefty toll for the 17 km distance between Nanthoor and NITK Surathkal for the road developed under Port Connectivity Project, though Nanthoor Junction still remains a bottleneck.
While NHAI officials claim the merger could take place after about six months, the rates are not expected to come down.
The toll is calculated at the rate of ₹1.0912 per km for light motor vehicles; ₹1.6465 for light commercial vehicles; ₹ 3.4497 for buses/ trucks; ₹ 5.4098 for multi-axle vehicles and ₹6.5858 for oversized vehicles.
Incomplete stretches
The toll for the Talapady-Nanthoor stretch (16.6 km) includes a structure fee for 800 m of flyovers at Thokkottu and Pumpwell Circle, which are incomplete. As such, the fee should have been lesser by ₹22 for a car; however the rate mentioned for a car is ₹35.
There are several incomplete works including service roads, main carriageway (Padubidri Town), flyover (Udupi Karavali Junction) and more.
The district administration has said that if NHAI’s proposal is as per the rules, it would not object to the toll collection. Dakshina Kannada Additional Deputy Commissioner Kumar told The Hindu that many representations are being received about incomplete work. The administration would review the work once Deputy Commissioner K.G. Jagadeesha returns from the meeting, he added.
Pay ₹ 150 toll for 110 km distance
A person driving car from Talapady to Kundapura—a distance of 110 km—on National Highway 66 would have to cough up ₹ 150 towards toll fee alone.
This includes ₹ 45 toll fee at the NITK Surathkal Toll plaza for the 17 km Port Connectivity Project Road between Nanthoor in Mangaluru and NITK Surathkal and ₹105 at the remaining three toll plazas (85 km) of Navayuga Udupi Tollway.
