The Himachal Pradesh high court has ordered the closure of the Sanwara toll barrier/collection centre from September 20 to October 30, 2025, citing the poor condition of the road.
The court had taken suo motu cognisance of the lack of basic facilities in the matter. The detailed order is awaited.
A division bench comprising chief justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and justice Ranjan Sharma directed the Solan deputy commissioner to provide necessary assistance to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for improving road conditions and to assess law and order issues. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for October 30.
High court on August 28, in wake of the repeated disruption of the Chandigarh–Shimla National Highway (NH-5), had rapped NHAI for failing to maintain the premium highway, cautioning that toll collection at the Sanwara plaza could be suspended if urgent corrective steps are not taken.
The HC in its order had said, “Apparently, the authorities of the NHAI are turning a blind eye even to maintain the premium highway. It is not disputed that the said highway is under construction and renovation is being carried out for a long time and the petition is pending since 2017.”
The detailed order dated August 28 had read, “It is a matter of fact that at ‘Chakki Mod’, the road has been closed for more than three occasions in the month of July/August, 2025, and that two way has been reduced to one way leading to a long traffic jams as much as five kilometers on either side, causing inconvenience not only to the general public but also affecting the economy of the state, especially keeping in view the fact that Apple season is on and the trucks have to go down to the plains. It is also a matter of fact that all the farmers as such have to send their goods to the plains on daily basis and any stoppage of the traffic as such makes the goods liable to be destroyed on account of their perishable nature.”
{{/usCountry}}The detailed order dated August 28 had read, “It is a matter of fact that at ‘Chakki Mod’, the road has been closed for more than three occasions in the month of July/August, 2025, and that two way has been reduced to one way leading to a long traffic jams as much as five kilometers on either side, causing inconvenience not only to the general public but also affecting the economy of the state, especially keeping in view the fact that Apple season is on and the trucks have to go down to the plains. It is also a matter of fact that all the farmers as such have to send their goods to the plains on daily basis and any stoppage of the traffic as such makes the goods liable to be destroyed on account of their perishable nature.”
{{/usCountry}}The HC bench had also sought “details of the contractors executing the work from Parwanoo to Solan and from Solan to Kaithlighat be also given to find out whether there is any nexus to award work to particular contractors who apparently are deficient in providing adequate service”
Around 15,000 vehicles ply on the Shimla-Kalka Highway, and the daily toll collection at the Sanwara Toll Plaza near Dharampur is around ₹11 lakh.