Motorists on Pune-Solapur highway allege extortion at defunct toll plazas of Kavadi Pat, Kasurdi, seek action

Pune-based RTI activist Vivek Velankar who is the president of Sajjan Nagarik Manch argued that a temporary shutdown should not last more than five years as miscreants are taking advantage of the situation, especially during nights. He also said that the defunct booths are creating a nuisance for drivers by causing congestion, including the speed breakers near them.

“How long will they remain ‘temporarily’ closed? They can be rebuilt later. But for now, they should be removed as they are becoming obstacles on the highway,” he said.

However, NHAI denied the claims of extortion and said there is a possibility of resuming the operation of the toll plazas and hence they cannot be removed.

“We also need to verify whether the complaints being filed are genuine or false, as no one should have an issue with the toll booth infrastructure. Some local shop owners and hotels may have their own concerns, which they are trying to address through false complaints,” added Abhijeet Aute, Manager Technical, NHAI (Pune).

Aute explained that the toll booths were shut down when they fell under the jurisdiction of the National Highway Public Works Department (NHPWD). “The toll booths have been closed for more than five years, but this is not permanent due to some pending proposed work. They will be reopened in a few years with the same infrastructure,” he said.

Dayanand Vibhute, Superintendent Engineer at NHPWD, attributed the reason behind the shutdown of the toll booths to the completion of the concession period of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project.

Velankar also pointed out that as per rules toll booths are not required less than a distance of 60 km.