Commuters complain of double tax collection at Lakholi Toll Plaza
26 May 2020 10:29:16
Special Correspondent :
Raipur,
Toll Plaza staff tried to save their skin on the pretext of technical fault in FASTag system installed at the plaza
Lakholi Toll Plaza near Arang, one of the FASTag national toll plazas in India, has come under scanner as commuters accused the toll plaza of charging commuters with double toll. A commuter, Narendra Soni from Khairagarh, said that he had paid double toll on his way to Raipur from Arang in a car. “The toll staff refunded the amount saying it happened due to some technical error in the FASTag system when I raised my voice against the irregularity at the plaza,” said Soni.
Soni, a social worker, said that he realised about the double toll he paid to the plaza people only when he received a mobile message reading an amount of Rs 25 had been deducted from his bank account in the form of toll charge. By the time, he had left the toll plaza and reached one and a half kilometer far from the plaza on his way to Raipur. Soni said that he was shocked to see the massage as he had already paid the amount in cash at the plaza counter. “I took a U-turn and reached the control room situated at the toll plaza. Initially, the toll plaza staff was reluctant in admitting their fault, but they had no other options, but to refund the additional amount paid by me when I entered into an heated exchange over their wrongdoings. The toll plaza staff also tried to appease me saying my account might have insufficient balance. But I told them that my account has sufficient balance,” said Soni.
He further said lakhs of vehicles are playing on this national highway and passing through the toll plaza. Possibility of double toll collection from them cannot he ruled out, he said. Other commuters too complained about the double toll. Soni alleged that the toll plaza employees are barricading the road near plaza in such a way that it would give an indication like FASTag installed at the toll plaza is out of function, making commuters pay toll charge in cash at the counter. Once the payment is done, the commuters are allowed through the FASTag enabled gates. After driving some distance, commuters, who have already made the payment in cash at the toll plaza, are receiving alert messages on their mobile phones that the toll charge has been deducted from their account, said Soni.
Soni said that he has has written letter to Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel. It is to be mentioned that Raipur Expressway Limited is the concessionaire of the toll plaza. When contacted, NHAI Project Officer Verma declined to comment on the issues. Additional District Magistrate Vinit Nandanwar said that even as the matter comes under the jurisdiction of NHAI, District Administration can act on specific complaint. Administration would take action as per provisions if it receives any complaint, he said. Besides Lakholi Toll Plaza, Chhattisgarh has nine other toll plazas which have FASTag system.
They are Thakurtolla Toll Plaza in Rajnandgaon and concessionaire of this plaza is Ashoka Buildcon, Chhuhipali and Dhank toll plazas in Mahasamund and concessionaire of these plazas is BSCPL Aurang Tollway Limited, Durg Bypass toll plaza in Durg by M/s SMS Shivnath Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Bhojpuri Toll Plaza Saragaon, Jagtara Toll Plaza in Kanker, Mashora and Badaiyiguda toll plazas in Jagdalpur and Kumhari toll plaza in Kumhari. FASTag is a simple to use, reloaded tag which enables automatic deduction of toll charges and lets commuters pass through the toll plaza without stopping for cash transaction. It is linked to a prepaid account from which the applicable toll amount is deducted. It provides a hassle free trip on national highways and saves fuel and time. Customer will receive SMS alerts in his/her mobile numbers for all the transactions done in his tag account. It is also called Electronic Toll Collection (ETC). This programme has been rolled out by National Highway Authority of India.