Transport strike called off

MUMBAI, AUG 5: The statewide transport strike called by the Maharashtra Rajya Truck, Tempo, Tankers Bus Vahatuk Sangh was called off this...

MUMBAI, AUG 5: The statewide transport strike called by the Maharashtra Rajya Truck, Tempo, Tankers Bus Vahatuk Sangh was called off this afternoon. The strike, which started from midnight on August 1, was to protest imposition of toll on flyovers in Mumbai.

The withdrawal of the strike was only a formality in the wake of Public Works Department PWD Minister Nitin Gadkari setting up a committee to study and propose an alternate system of toll collection. This basically means the amount of toll per vehicle will be reduced and other methods of revenue collection resorted to.

The committee will be headed by transport secretary Suresh Chandra, who will also look into other demands of truckers and submit a report to the government within a month.

8220;We are withdrawing the strike because the chief minister has assured us toll collection will be stayed till a new tax is imposed,8221; said Mohinder Singh Ghurra, president of the Sangh.

However, with the election code of conduct in force, it seems unlikely the CM could make a proclamation staying toll. A press release from the state government said the demands of truckers as well as the stay on toll taxes would be considered sympathetically.

One of the options open to the government will be imposition of a tax on fuel and non-commercial vehicles in the state. A tax of one per cent on fuel will earn the government nearly Rs 35 crore per year. But this tax, if imposed, is also likely to be limited to the districts of Mumbai, Thane and Raigad.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, which is building 55 flyovers in Mumbai, has been hoping to recover a major part of its Rs 1,500 crore investment through toll. As per existing toll rates, the corporation was to earn nearly Rs 100 crore every year through toll.

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But opposition from both public and politicians has seen a steady decrease in the rates in the past few months. Bowing to pressure from some of his own partymen, Gadkari had reduced the charge for monthly passes for vehicle owners from Rs 1,200 to Rs 500 last month.