Come Friday, those travelling by car from Tiruchi to Thoothukudi will have to stop the vehicle at four more toll plazas within a stretch of 35 km between the exisiting two toll plazas operated by National Highways Authority of India at Chittampatti and Eliyarpathi.
For, Tamil Nadu Road Infrastructure Development Corporation will begin collection of toll from Friday at three toll plazas on the widened four-lane Ring Road connecting Uthangudi and Kappalur in Madurai.
The ₹215-crore project that was scheduled to be completed by April is yet to get over with the State government agency still constructing a road overbridge at Kappalur. “The toll meant for this bridge will not be collected till it is completed,” a TNRIDC official said.
Under the project, the 27.5-km-long Ring Road has been widened with a median. The number of toll plazas has been brought down to three from five which were operated by Madurai Corporation before it was handed over to State Highways Department.
However, Madurai Consumer Protection Center has appealed to the Chief Minister to give up its proposal to commissioning the toll plazas on Ring Road.
“Already vehicle users have to pay toll at eight plazas between Madurai and Chennai. More toll plazas will be additional burden and ‘punishment’ to road users,” its general secretary G. Muniasamy said.
Stating that the Centre had stipulated that a minimum distance of 60 km should be maintained between two toll plazas, Mr. Muniasamy said there would be three toll collection points on Ring Road in a short distance of 35 km between Chittampatti and Eliyarpathi.
A retired Chief Engineer of State Highways Department A.K. Rajaduraivelpandian said it was wrong on part of the NHAI to have collected toll at Chittampatti and Eliyarpathi when the agency did not have any four-lane road between the two toll gates.
He suggested that the NHAI toll plazas at Chittampatti, Eliyarpathi and Kappalur should be closed and the toll plazas of TNRIDC operated. Or else, the new plazas should be closed and those of NHAI should be operated.
The Centre and State can make the issue simple by sharing the revenue collected at the existing toll plazas by entering into an agreement. If it is done, vehicles need not wait at two or three toll plazas. “The time and fuel of vehicles wasted at three toll plazas can be avoided,” he added.
However, a NHAI official said that their toll plazas were legal as their collection was only for the sections of roads where there were four-lane roads. “Only the Centre and State government could decide on NHAI taking over the Ring Road,” he added.
