Mumbai becomes toll-free for cars, SUVs ahead of Maharashtra Assembly elections
PTC News Desk: A complete toll waiver for light motor vehicles at toll booths has been announced by Maharashtra government. The waiver is applicable to all the five booths in Mumbai which will come into effect from midnight.
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde made the announcement during a Cabinet meeting. The move is expected to bring relief ahead of Diwali specially to commuters travelling in and out of Mumbai, who have been complaining of long waiting hours. With the toll waiver, people will now be able to travel without paying tolls at any of the five booths - Dahisar, LBS Road-Mulund, Eastern Express Highway-Mulund, Airoli Creek Bridge and Vashi.
Opposition parties in the state had been demanding a toll waiver on all Mumbai booths.
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Light motor vehicles are basically those which are primarily manufactured for carrying passengers or goods. Vehicles in this category include cars, jeeps, vans and small trucks. According to the statistics, more than six lakh vehicles commute through Mumbai daily, out of which 80 per cent of them are light motor vehicles.
As soon as the construction of the bridges reached its final stage, a tender was floated in 1999 for the construction of toll booths. In 2002, all five toll booths were commissioned. After that, toll collection started at Mumbai's toll booths.
According to activists, the maintenance money and costs were recovered 10 years ago, but the government continued to collect the toll.
Last year, the Maharashtra government extended the toll tax recovery for three more years till 2027 and it was expecting around Rs 11,000 crore.
- With inputs from agencies
