Static toll collection raises eyebrows

CENTRAL EXCISE revenue and goods production have increased and exports have also registered considerable growth in the region during the past few years. However, toll collection from the Rau-Pithampur Road, which is the main arterial road to and from the State?s biggest industrial growth centre of Pithampur and Kheda, has remained static.

CENTRAL EXCISE revenue and goods production have increased and exports have also registered considerable growth in the region during the past few years. However, toll collection from the Rau-Pithampur Road, which is the main arterial road to and from the State’s biggest industrial growth centre of Pithampur and Kheda, has remained static.

HT Image

As per the data provided by Audyogik Kendra Vikas Nigam (AKVN) Executive Director R C Raka, they have been collecting toll for the past four years and collection has remained static for several years. The collection in the financial year 2002-03 was Rs 2.20 crore and it remained exactly the same after two years - in 2004-05.

The collections for the current year, too, do not show any signs of increase, as AKVN has collected only Rs 1.59 crore during the first 9 months of this financial year. Though Raka said that toll collection had been static due to the construction of Mhow-Ghatabillod road, industrialists do not subscribe to this view.

“There is no relation at all between the two roads. Which industrialist will allow his trucks to take a turn for Mhow-Ghatabillod, as the distance between the two roads is 24 kms. It can never be diverted,” said Pithampur Industries Association president Gautam Kothari.

“There is something fishy in the entire toll collection, otherwise there is no reason why collection has not increased during the past several years,” he said.

In fact, tax collection should have increased considerably as several companies have either come up or expanded their units in Pithampur and Kheda - including Force Motors, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Motors, Mann Industries, Anant Steel, Rathi Steel, Pratibha Syntex, L&T, Nicholas, Metalman, Ruchi and several other small industries.

Apart from these, the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has also started contributing to the movement of large number of trucks and other vehicles in the region, Kothari said.

Irked over the matter, the Pithampur Industries Association has forwarded a proposal to the AKVN suggesting that the Association take over supervision of toll collection and the increased amount of collection could be shared equally between the AKVN and them. “The Association is hopeful of an increase of at least Rs 5 lakh per month”, Kothari said.

Central excise revenue collection during this period has increased significantly in the region. While the total revenue collection by Central Excise Department in 2002-03 was Rs 1,066 crore, it rose to Rs 1,325 crore in 2004-05.

The Central Excise Department has shown increase in collection even after the Finance Ministry had exempted several industries like soyabean from its purview and several industries have been given huge tax relaxations during this period.

“Even after exemption and relaxation, we have been registering considerable growth in tax collection. Production has definitely increased,” said Central Excise and Customs Indore Commissioner Arvind Singh.

When contacted, AKVN Managing Director Ashish Srivastava said, “We are trying our best to improve the toll collection. I will take all steps for the interest of the State and this organisation.”

Conceived by then Chief Minister Arjun Singh in 1988, the Rau-Pithampur Road, the first private toll road in the country, has been courting controversy ever since its commissioning on November 1 1993.

The controversies were about irregularities in toll collection, toll tariff and the ownership rights for collecting toll from this 11.5-km road, which was financed and constructed by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (ILFS) at a cost of around Rs 7.80 crore.

Since commissioning of the road, ILFS had been collecting toll as per government guidelines till 1999, when government formed a new company named MP Toll Road Ltd (MPTRL), which was reportedly a jugglery of sorts by then officials of MPSIDC.

Till 2001, the toll went to MPTRL and in turn to ILFS, when all of a sudden AKVN took upon itself the responsibility of collecting toll and refused to give the ILFS a share. Now, the matter is in arbitration for which the final verdict is expected any time.