Residents who live along the 32-km Chennai Bypass say they are unable to get local resident passes (LRP) from the toll plazas at Ambattur (Surapet) and Vanaragam.
Lakshmi Rajangam, who commutes to Sholinganallur from Vanagaram every day, says when she approached the Vanagaram plaza, she was told to purchase a monthly pass instead. “The LRP costs just Rs. 150 per month. But I was asked to pay Rs. 800 for a monthly pass. I now buy a daily pass as I have no other go,” she says.
According to a 2008 notification of the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, residents living within a 10-km radius of toll plazas can avail of LRPs to ply the stretch.
M. Babu, a resident of Red Hills, says every time he approaches the toll plaza at Ambattur for the LRP, he ends up in an argument with the staff there.
“I have seen people with party flags being allowed to pass the plaza without making any payment. But residents of the neighbourhood are not provided with the LRP,” he says.
Sources at the National Highways Authority of India say they have not received any formal complaints from anybody about the non-availability of LRPs.
“Residents can write to us or meet us at our office on Butt Road in Chennai with their complaints,” says an official.
