SC upholds the Allahabad HC order ending toll collection on Delhi-Noida Direct flyway
The HC ruling came on a plea filed by the Federation of Noida Resident Welfare Association, which claims to espouse the cause of NOIDA residents, particularly civic issues.
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The origin of the flyway dates back to April 1992, when NOIDA and the Delhi administration entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IL&FS, intending to construct the bridge (Wikimedia commons)The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the Allahabad High Court order ending toll collection by Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL) on the DND (Delhi-Noida Direct) flyway connecting Delhi to Noida.
Dismissing the appeal filed by NTBCL against the HC’s October 26, 2016 order, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said, “NTBCL has recovered the project costs and substantial profits, eliminating any justification for the continued imposition or collection of user fees or tolls.” It added there is no infirmity in the HC judgment and that it found no reason to interfere with it.
The SC further said that the contract awarded to NTBCL through the concession agreement by state authorities and New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) was “unfair, unjust and inconsistent with Constitutional norms”. It added that NOIDA “exceeded its authority by delegating the power to levy fees or impose tolls to NTBCL, rendering such delegation invalid”.
The origin of the flyway dates back to April 1992, when NOIDA and the Delhi administration entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IL&FS, intending to construct the bridge. The concession agreement was executed on November 12, 1997, designating NOIDA and IL&FS — which constructed the flyway — as the “sponsors” and NTBCL as the “concessionaire”.
The HC ruling came on a plea filed by the Federation of Noida Resident Welfare Association, which claims to espouse the cause of NOIDA residents, particularly civic issues. The association had moved the HC nearly 15 years after the execution of the concession agreement. It sought a direction to discontinue toll charges from those who used the DND flyway, saying NTBCL had already recovered the project costs.
Agreeing with the HC’s findings, the SC said that “no person or entity can be allowed to make an undue and unjust profit from public property, at the cost of the public at large. “
It referred to the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit report, which said: “…the annual toll income of NTBCL during 2001-2016 was Rs 892.51 crore. NTBCL has been making profits for the last 11 years… has no accumulated losses as of 31.03.2016; has paid dividends of Rs 243.07 crore till 31.03.2016 to its shareholders and repaid all its debt with interest. NTBCL had thus, by 31.03.2016, recovered the project costs, the maintenance costs, and a significant profit on its initial investment.”
The order said that “an exhaustive reading of the CAG report highlights the extent to which the public has been defrauded…” This, it added, “could not have been done but for the collusion of then officers of the two state governments and of NOIDA…”
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