Hike in toll tax angers commuters, residents living across Kherki Daula toll plaza

Commuters using the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and residents living in sectors around the Kherki Daula toll plaza said they were angry about the “indiscriminate” increase in toll fees announced by the highway concessionaire on Wednesday

Commuters using the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and residents living in sectors around the Kherki Daula toll plaza said they were angry about the “indiscriminate” increase in toll fees announced by the highway concessionaire on Wednesday.

Gurugram, India - March 30: A view of the Kherki Daula toll plaza, in Gurugram, India, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. The fare of the Kherki Daula toll plaza will increase by about 14 percent from April 1. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times) **To go with Abhishek Bhel's story**

Residents of the area complained that they were forced to pay ₹160 just for entering and exiting their homes. They also criticised the state government for failing to shift the toll plaza. Residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) also vented on social media site Twitter, accusing the government of inaction and lack of concern towards the common man.

Pravin Malik, president, United Association of New Gurugram, an RWA body, said that instead of shifting the toll plaza, the highway authority had increased the toll fees, which will adversely impact commuters. “A large number of people live in developing sectors beyond Kherki Daula and they will have to pay tax to enter and exit their homes. The Union and state governments have made us umpteen promises but the only thing they deliver is an increase in toll every year,” said Malik.

Last year too, the concessionaire had increased the toll by a minimal amount.

Residents said they are now planning to meet district administration officials and submit a memorandum demanding that toll fees be put in abeyance. “The Union transport minister had recently announced that people living near the toll plaza will either be exempt from paying toll fees or will have to pay minimal charges. The highway authority should consult with the transport ministry,” said another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“This yearly increase in toll is taking a very heavy toll on the residents. We demand that the Kherki Daula toll plaza should be shifted at the earliest,” said Yashesh Yadav, president, Dwarka Expressway Welfare Association.

To be sure, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari last month had announced during a public meeting at Panchgaon that the Kherki Daula toll plaza will be shifted as soon as work on Dwarka Expressway is completed.

Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh had also raised the issue of shifting the toll plaza during the meeting. “The shift is waiting to happen,” he had said.

As per a senior NHAI official, the shifting of the Kherki Daula toll will have to wait till June 2023, which is the deadline for completing all phases of the Dwarka Expressway.

In 2016, when Gadkari had first announced that the Kherki Daula toll plaza will be shifted if the Haryana government made land available free of cost to the NHAI, the government initiated a large-scale exercise and identified land at Sehrawan near Manesar to set up a new toll plaza in place of Kherki Daula. This plan however got scuttled due to legal issues and opposition by local residents.

Thereafter the Haryana government announced that it will give 30 acres of land to NHAI for the plaza but this was also delayed due to a court battle by landowners.

In March 2021, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority offered 30 acres of land to NHAI after settling local issues. However, the shifting has remained in limbo as the NHAI now plans to shift the toll plaza only after the completion of the Dwarka Expressway.