Vehicle users plying on the Mysuru-Nanjangud highway and using National Highway 212 linking Moolehole in Bandipur to Uttamballi in Kollegal will have to get ready to pay toll consequent to the completion of the highway upgrade project.
The Rs. 419-crore project, which also entailed upgrading the 24-km Mysuru-Nanjangud stretch to a four-lane section, s complete in all respects but for minor works. Vehicles are already plying on the upgraded highway though there are indications that an official inauguration may be held in due course.
R. Dhruvanarayan, the MP from Chamarajanagar, told The Hindu that the contractors were given an extension of two months beyond their original 24-month term and the deadline is nearing. The 129-km project has a carriage width ranging from 8 to 10 metres, but the Mysuru-Nanjangud section is a four lane about 15 metres wide.
“The roadworks are 98 per cent complete. The minor works at in the finishing stages,” the MP said, adding that there are plans to get the inauguration done by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
However, the project has been implemented on the understanding that it will be a toll highway and the contractors are banking on this to recover their investment. Three toll plazas have been constructed — one each near Kadakola, Maddur, near Gundlupet, and near Varkodu on the T. Narsipur Road.
Mr. Dhruvanarayan said toll collection will commence once the project is officially completed. Details such as the cost per km for different types of vehicles and the duration for which the contractors will levy toll have been finalised and will be announced soon, he said.
Opposition
Meanwhile, opposition is brewing to the proposed toll collection, and some political parties have already upped the ante in what is expected to be a protracted agitation.
Activists belonging to the Samajwadi Janata Party — which has little presence in the area — have criticised the proposal and termed it illegal. They argue that the government anyway levies tax on vehicles for road maintenance and should thus desist from imposing toll for travelling on the highway. They also say that infrastructure cess has been introduced by the Centre and levying toll for road use would be “undemocratic”.
They have called upon the government to discuss the pros and cons of the toll move before finalising it.
