The Noida-Greater Noida expressway will be a toll-free road, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced. The developers of the expressway, the Jaypee Group, had wanted to set up a toll collection plaza in Noida’s Sector 144. This move would have been in accordance with the company’s agreement with the earlier Uttar Pradesh government, which was led by Mayawati, in 2003.
The Samajwadi Party government, however, decided to put a spanner in the works and not collect toll on the expressway.
“We are not in favour of charging toll on the Noida-Greater Noida expressway because it will pinch a large section of commuters,” Sanjeev Saran, the chief executive officer of the Noida authority, said.
“Our proposal to the state government mentioned that toll would be collected only on the Yamuna expressway, and not on the 22km-long Noida-Greater Noida expressway,” Rakesh Bahadur, the chairman of the Yamuna, Noida and Greater Noida authority, said.
Yamuna expressway delay
The inauguration of the Yamuna has been postponed by a month, officials said.
The 165km-long expressway linking Greater Noida with Agra was earlier expected to be thrown open for use by the public sometime in July.
“The Akhilesh Yadav government has not yet accepted the Yamuna authority’s proposal on a toll plaza. Then, how can the expressway be opened this month? First, the government needs to study and agree on the proposal. Only after that government will think of an opening date,” said Bahadur.
{{/usCountry}}“The Akhilesh Yadav government has not yet accepted the Yamuna authority’s proposal on a toll plaza. Then, how can the expressway be opened this month? First, the government needs to study and agree on the proposal. Only after that government will think of an opening date,” said Bahadur.
{{/usCountry}}On the likely toll rates, he said, “they will be on a par with the National Highway Authority of India guidelines”.