News: One Way Toll To Manesar To Be Removed-19.08.2017
One way toll to Manesar to be removed
NEW DELHI: In a big relief to thousands of commutersusing Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, NHAI is all set to shift the toll lanes on Gurgaon-Jaipur carriagewayat Kherki Dhaula toll plazabeyond Manesar. The lanes would be shifted to Pachgaon where the KMP expressway meets NH-8. This is likely to become a reality in the next two-three months.
Though the toll lanes on the other carriageway (Jaipur-Gurgaon) would not be shifted, their numbers will be increased to 21 from the present 12 lanes for faster processing of vehicles and to avoid congestion.
This will mean people commuting to Manesar from Delhi won't need to pay toll whereas they have to pay the user fee at Kherki Dhaula while returning.
Congestion at Kherki Dhaula toll plaza has been a bone of contention between Haryana government and NHAI. Industry associations of Manesar and locals have been demanding the removal of the toll plaza.
Officials said considering that the removal of the toll plaza would cause a huge financial setback to NHAI and Haryana government since the present contractor has to be compensated, the plan to shift the toll lanes has been found as the most workable solution.
"This will end congestion at the toll plaza and that will serve the purpose. As such the contract for the expressway project will end in 2023," an official said. There is little chance of the contract getting extended further.
Sources said the talks between NHAI and Haryana government are at their final stages. NHAI will obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the present operator of Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch of NH-8 (Pink City Expressway) for shifting the toll lanes and the negotiation has started. This is necessary as shifting of the toll lanes will impact the revenue collection of Pink City Expressway.
TOI has learnt that Haryana will pay compensation to the present operator of Delhi-Gurgaon e-way as it is bound to bear some revenue loss. About 20% of the traffic from places like Delhi and Gurgaon exits the highway in Manesar. Various operators at this toll have already earned more than 3000 crore during its operation. current operator claimed loss of 50 lakh per day when tolls were made free for a few days during demonetisation. According to sources, Haryana would bear a share of this revenue loss and would compensate the present expressway operator. This one time compensation amount is likely to be less than Rs 100 crore. Haryana government will also provide land for building the toll plaza.
Earlier, Haryana government had proposed to pay Rs 600 crore for removal of the toll plaza while the e-way operators had reportedly sought Rs 2,000 crore compensation.
