15-day free ride at Gurgaon toll plaza, rules HC

You can drive to Gurgaon and back without paying any toll for the next 15 days.

You can drive to Gurgaon and back without paying any toll for the next 15 days.

HT Image

Taking exception to the failure to decongest the 32-lane toll plaza near Ambience Mall, the Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday restrained the concessionaire, Delhi Gurgaon Super Connectivity Limited (DGSCL), from collecting any toll for a fortnight beginning Tuesday midnight. Because of traffic mismanagement, it takes 15-20 minutes to cross the toll plaza.The order covers the 5-lane toll plaza leading to Terminal 3 of IGI Airport and the 16-lane toll gate at Kherki Daula, 18 km after the Delhi-Gurgaon toll plaza, as well. So, motorists will not have to pay any toll at these points over the next fortnight.

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A division bench also directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to convene a meeting of the state authorities and DGSCL representatives to arrive at a permanent solution to commuters’ problems. “The project is a matter of national pride but it has fallen flat,” it said.

The court had, last month, asked why DGSCL couldn’t build 10 additional toll plazas — five on either side — to ease traffic flow. DGSCL had said this couldn’t be a short-term solution since NHAI would first have to okay the proposal and then land would have to be acquired. NHAI has not yet responded to the court’s query. The next hearing is on September 20.

Since then, several experiments, like setting up temporary booths before and after the toll plaza, have only added to the traffic mess.

In February, NHAI had initiated proceedings for terminating DGSCL’s right to levy toll, which runs till 2028. That matter is being heard by the Delhi HC.