Ally Anupriya sends another letter to UP govt, flags ‘illegal’ toll collections

In his letter, Nandi said that toll plazas were previously established at three locations along the Varanasi-Shaktinagar Marg: Fattepur (4.680 km), Lodhi (68.100 km), and Maloghat (108.940 km), “all in accordance with the prescribed standards.”

Following a complaint from a private developer, it was pointed out that vehicles going to Shaktinagar from the Fattepur toll plaza were using the Varanasi-Shaktinagar route before Ahraura, passing through Chunar and Narayanpur-Jamui. Similarly, vehicles coming from Shaktinagar to Varanasi are diverting via Chakia after passing Ahraura (chainage 18.700 km), resulting in a loss of revenue, Nandi said.

To address the revenue leakage, conditional approval was granted to establish an additional toll booth at Ahraura. The condition stipulates that toll fees must be collected from vehicles at either the Fattepur or Ahraura toll plaza, the minister pointed out in his response.

The minister also clarified that toll is collected at Ahraura only from vehicles that do not pay at Fattepur and choose to use the Varanasi-Shaktinagar route – underlining that toll is collected at “only one of the two plazas”. Thus, the above mentioned toll arrangement and the distance between one toll and another is “as per the established standards,” Nandi said.

The private developer concerned, M/s ACP Tollways Pvt Ltd (M/s APCO), was previously instructed to implement a fast tag system for toll collection at the booths. However, due to their failure to take the necessary action, their representative was summoned again on July 14 and directed to ensure installing the fast tag system at all toll booths along the route within a month. Therefore, the objections raised by the Union Minister of State are considered “baseless,” Nandi added.

Earlier on June 27, Patel, in a letter to CM Adityanath, alleged that reserved seats meant for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) become “unreserved” during the government recruitment process, resulting in non-selection of candidates from these categories.

The UP government in its response stated that the quota posts remaining vacant after the selection process were not converted to unreserved posts and were carried forward to the next recruitment process.

Speaking on the issue at Idea Exchange last week, Patel said: “If people are complaining, it is your responsibility to address the grievances. This is not the first time such an interaction is taking place. Flagging concerns happens everywhere, even in autonomous institutions and universities. Today, we are in government. So if something is brought to my notice, I will apprise the chief minister, expecting him to correct anomalies. That’s his responsibility.”