Maharashtra polls: Shinde scraps toll on light vehicles at Mumbai’s entry, exit points

As many as 280,000 light vehicles use Mumbai’s five major toll booths at Mulund, the Eastern Express Highway, the Mulund-Airoli bridge, Dahisar and Mankhurd

MUMBAI: Days before the election commission is set to announce the dates for the assembly election in Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti government has decided to scrap the toll charged on light and non-commercial vehicles (school and regular buses) entering or exiting Mumbai. This was announced by chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday and will come into effect from midnight.

Mumbai, India - October 14, 2024: Mulund Mumbai toll Naka as the Maharashtra government has announced in the cabinet to waive the toll for light vehicles at all entry points of Mumbai from 12 am tonight ,in Mumbai,in Mumbai, India, on, Monday, October 14, 2024. ( Praful ÊGangurde /HT Photo )

As many as 280,000 light vehicles use Mumbai’s five major toll booths at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Road entry point at Mulund, the Eastern Express Highway at Mulund, the Mulund-Airoli bridge, Dahisar and Mankhurd . It is believed that scrapping the tolls for light and non-commercial vehicles will ease traffic snarls at these points, saving people time and money.

Incidentally, this is yet another decision taken by the state cabinet without discussing its financial implications on the state exchequer with the finance department. The question on everyone’s mind is how will the government compensate the toll collection contractor with whom it has an agreement till 2027.

In the recent past, the government has doled out many pre-election sops, ignoring the finance department’s red flags – the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (where underprivileged women get ₹1,500 each month), the Mukhyamantri Vayoshri Yojana (one-time dole of ₹3,000 for the elderly to pay for support systems) and the Mukhyamantri Yuva Karya Prashikshan Yojana (to support the youth with a stipend of ₹6,000 - ₹10,000 for a year), among others.

Currently, ₹45 is charged from light vehicle owners and ₹75 from bus owners at entry and exit points of Mumbai. The corpus is collected to compensate the amount spent to build 55 flyovers and maintain them. The flyovers were constructed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) during the Shiv-Sena-BJP rule from 1995 to 1999. Successive governments continued the levy.

In 2010, MSRDC appointed a contractor, Mumbai Entry Point Limited (MEPL), to collect the toll and, in exchange, maintain the 55 flyovers. The MEPL-state government contract ends in 2027, and 2036 at Mankhurd-Vashi entry point.

It is not the first such decision by the government. The Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government had scrapped the toll at the Sion-Panvel highway in 2015. It, however, sustained the collections at the entry and exit points of Mumbai, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the Mumbai-Pune expressway.

The three-party alliance government, which is staring at a tough election, took the decision facing demands from various political parties and citizen groups for a long time. As MSRDC minister Dada Bhuse said, “We have been planning this since a long time and took the bold step on Monday.” The chief minister said, “People have gone to court to oppose the tolls; I have also been a part of it in the past. I feel happy that we took this step; it will reduce pollution and curtail jams.”

The move will weigh heavy on the state’s coffers, given its existing agreement with MEPL, which must be honoured. The government will now have to compensate by paying the remaining amount to the contractor. The cabinet has set up a committee under chief secretary Sujata Saunik to decide on the compensation to MEPL. HT reached out to Jayant Mhaiskar, owner of MEPL, but he was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, the MMRDA is planning to construct an elevated road from Ghatkopar to Thane soon at a cost of ₹2,682 crore, by 2028. This spot, which will provide Thaneites direct connectivity to the Eastern Freeway to travel to the island city, will not be toll-free.

Opposition parties react

Workers of the ruling parties as well as the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) celebrated the decision by distributing sweets and bursting crackers. While MNS chief Raj Thackeray expressed happiness over the decision, he warned that this should not just be “some poll-related gimmick and remain a permanent decision”.

Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, who had staged agitations against toll, said, “I welcome this daring decision. The money to construct the highways was recovered long ago.”

While he welcomed the decision, Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant urged the government to reveal how much money will it pay the contractor from the state exchequer and, more crucially, will the government now charge more from heavy vehicles passing through the toll booths to compensate for the waiver on light vehicles.

“If they increase the toll on heavy vehicles, it will lead to an increase of prices of essential commodities, which will hurt common people’s pockets,” said Sawant.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray slammed the Mahayuti government for the decision, calling it a “jumla” (empty promise) ahead of the assembly polls. “No amount of jumlas from the Shinde-BJP regime can sway Maharashtra. To have looted Maharashtra for two years and then to give a toll waiver hours before an election code of conduct clearly shows how desperate they are to try and sway Maharashtra. Their desperation to hide their loot and lure people will not work. For their own self, it was 50 khoke (money bags)… now after khoke and dhoke (betrayals), they are trying to give our state peanuts. Maharashtra needs jobs. Maharashtra needs investment. Maharashtra needs political stability. Maharashtra needs law and order. Maharashtra needs a government sensitive to citizens, not gaddars (traitors). Maharashtra needs a capable CM. Maharashtra needs change,” said Thackeray in a post on X.

Transporters were unhappy with the decision.

Bal Malkit Singh, chairman of the core committee of All India Motor Transport Congress, stated that “the decision was unfair towards a certain faction of the transporters’ community, who play a crucial role in providing essential services to the people of Mumbai”.

“The toll waiver should also be extended to commercial vehicle operators. Additionally, the government is yet to abolish the border check posts, which has been a long-pending issue. The government had agreed to it principally, but is yet to actualise it. Removal of these posts in Maharashtra would have had a profoundly positive impact on the transport fraternity, both within the state and across India,” said Singh.

Mumbai joint commissioner of police (Traffic) Anil Kumbhare said: “This will ease traffic at toll nakas (booths) and make commuting easy.”