HC hints at CAG probe on Mumbai-Pune expressway toll collection

The Bombay high court is likely to ask the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to conduct a thorough investigation into the toll collection done by the contractor on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, after hearing objections in public interest litigation (PIL) for the extension of the contract till 2030

The Bombay high court is likely to ask the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to conduct a thorough investigation into the toll collection done by the contractor on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, after hearing objections in public interest litigation (PIL) for the extension of the contract till 2030.

Mumbai-Pune Expressway. (Hindustan Times)

The court expressed astonishment that the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) could not recover the total capital outlay of the project of ₹3,632 crore since the expressway was thrown open for public use in 2004, and as a result of which, the recovery now stands at ₹22,000 crore. The court has asked the advocate general and the additional solicitor general to appear before the court on Thursday.

The division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice Girish Kulkarni, while hearing the PIL filed by activist and advocate, Pravin Wategaonkar was informed that he was challenging the toll collection on Mumbai-Pune Expressway and seeking a declaration that levying toll on the e-way from August 2019 was illegal as per the Motor Vehicle Tax Act, 1958.

Pointing to the submissions in the MSRDC affidavit filed in response to the PIL, Wategaonkar drew the attention of the bench to the fact that there was no mention of the total capital outlay for the project and the period over which it was to be recovered in the Build-Operate-Transfer agreement between the corporation and the contractor. The affidavit merely spoke about the amount recovered so far and how much was pending as of date.

On perusing the affidavit the court sought to know from MSRDC what the total cost of the construction was, however, the counsel for the corporation only submitted that while ₹3632 crore was recoverable in 2004, the recoverable now stood at ₹22,370 crores.

Astonished at the reply the court observed that it was difficult to believe that project cost recoverable in 2004 was yet to be recovered. Expressing its displeasure that the MSRDC affidavit was filed without any supporting documents the court said that the same deserved to be rejected. The court then sought to know from MSRDC how much of the toll collected was benefitting the general public and how much of it was going to the private contractor.

The court then sought the presence of additional solicitor general Anil Singh for CAG and advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni for the state before it on Thursday and said that after hearing them it was likely to ask the CAG to conduct a thorough investigation.