Residents to protest at Ghamroj toll on April 18 to press demand for exemption

Residents of condominiums and villages along Sohna road and Sohna town have decided to hold a protest at the Ghamroj toll plaza on April 18 to press their demand for exempting people living within 20km of the highway from paying toll tax, on the lines of the Kherki Daula toll plaza, or shift the toll booth to the nearby Delhi Mumbai Expressway

Residents of condominiums and villages along Sohna road and Sohna town have decided to hold a protest at the Ghamroj toll plaza on April 18 to press their demand for exempting people living within 20km of the highway from paying toll tax, on the lines of the Kherki Daula toll plaza, or shift the toll booth to the nearby Delhi Mumbai Expressway.

Gurugram, India - April 13, 2022: A view of the Ghamroj Toll Plaza on Sohna Road, in Gurugram, India, on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Residents of Sohna and nearby villages demands to shift the toll plaza 60 km away. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/ Hindustan Times) **Story pics for Abhishake Behl** (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The toll plaza became operational at Ghamroj after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) completed phase two of the highway project. Commuters using the highway, particularly locals, alleged that despite assurances by the highway authority and political leaders, they have not been exempted from toll tax payment.

A meeting on the toll tax issue was held on Wednesday in Sohna, wherein the participants decided to stage a protest on both carriageways of toll plaza and keep the markets in Sohna town closed as a mark of protest. “This highway is access controlled and has divided Sohna city. We will protest against the toll and keep markets closed on April 18,” said Manoj Bajrangi, president, Sohna Vyapar Mandal.

Around 150,000 people living in villages and condominiums along the highway are severely impacted by the imposition of the toll tax, said Satbir Khatana, who organised the mahapanchayat on this matter on March 5. “We approached the highway authorities and political leaders but only got assurances. Now, we have decided to stage a protest at the toll plaza on April 18 to press our demand,” said Khatana.

Residents of several condominiums lining the road have also come in support of this agitation, said the organisers.

Meanwhile, commuters using the expressway alleged that while the toll tax has been imposed from April 1, the road is still incomplete and people have to bear with congestion and traffic jams on various stretches of the expressway. Students of a number of educational institutions also suffer, particularly after the toll became operational as it witnesses jams during peak hours.

“Earlier, it took me only 20 minutes to reach the K R Mangalam University on Sohna road from my home in Badshahpur. After the toll plaza started operations on April 1, the time for commuting has also doubled. Over 2,000 students in our university and several other educational institutions on this road are suffering due to this situation. The condition of the road is still bad in Badshahpur, traffic jams are a common occurrence. The woes that the toll plaza has brought with it are increase in travelling cost, more waiting time, more expenditure on fuel and increase in pollution levels,” said professor Kiran Bala, dean of School of Journalism and Mass Communication, K R Mangalam University.

Residents alleged that the toll plaza has been installed in a hurry as the entire Sohna road project is yet to be completed. There are frequent jams at many stretches and the situation has worsened after the toll booth started operations. There is not enough lighting at the toll plaza, the staff is untrained and the RFID readers often fail to work during peak hours, alleged residents.

The ‘toll hatao’ samiti said that they are going to involve residents of condominiums, university students and farmers, and working professionals, who frequently travel on this road, in the protest. Harbir Adhana, vice president, BJP unit of Sohna, who was present in the meeting on Wednesday, said several people from Sohna work in Manesar and now they have to pay toll twice---once at Ghamroj toll and another at Kherki Daula toll plaza.“We will approach all government and political forums to get justice,” said Adhana adding that discounted passes being offered to locals are also not working.

P K Kaushik, project director of NHAI, said he had not received any complaint regarding congestion at the toll. He also said Sohna Road is being developed in two phases and the toll is being charged only for phase II, where all the works have been completed. “We are not charging any fee for phase I (from Subash Chowk to Badshahpur), as it is still under construction. Once that is completed, the fee for using that section will also be charged,” he said.

Kaushik also said that discounted passes for local users are being made available at ₹315, which allow 50 trips in a month on the highway. “This is a world class road and users must pay the fees if we have to build new infrastructure. We have installed all fixtures and lights on the stretch,” he said.

The NHAI is building the 21.4km-long Sohna elevated road project in two phases. The first phase is around 9km and comprises an underpass from Rajiv Chowk towards Subash Chowk and an elevated road beyond Badshhapur. The second phase is around 13km and includes flyovers and surface road, which are access controlled and for which users have to pay a toll fee. The entire project is likely to be completed by June 2022.