Booth staffers have a different story to tell compared to the IRB report.
While scanning the data shared by the IRB Surat-Dahisar Tollways Pvt Ltd with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), I stumbled upon the ballooned up figures of vehicles that either refused the pay the toll or were exempted.
After repeated requests by dna to the toll agency to respond to its initial set of 15 questions and throw some light on the subject, IRB sent a four-sentence reply. According to the reply, it was rare for vehicle drivers to refuse to pay the toll. Their report to the NHAI, however, stated that the number of such refusals was very high.
This made me check the ground reality at four toll plazas – Khaniwade, Charoti, Bhagwada and Boriach. Baring a couple of individuals, the booth staffers were candid in voicing their experience. When asked if they were facing errant motorists on a daily basis, all of them responded in negative, and said it was rare.
Also read: Toll Tales | Motorists argue and drive away without paying toll on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway: IRB report
In fact one of the workers, who had been at the booth for two years, said some motorists made a hue and cry a year ago, but none were let off without paying the toll. Over a year ago, the state government had waived off toll at 53 plazas.
Some other workers said motorists coming from both Gujarat and Maharashtra pay toll at the previous booths and so are aware that the toll hasn't been waived off.
As the report submitted by the toll agency mentioned that 20-25% of the vehicles went by without paying the tax, this correspondent decided to spend some time at the most "violated toll plazas" – the Bhagwada plaza – only to find work being carried out peacefully and no one getting into an argumentative mode.
When the workers were told about the agency's claims of FIRs being filed against the violators, they laughed and said, "Such a situation never arises."
Why, then, the IRB Infrastructure Developers Private Limited claimed that they have been filing FIRs? Why did the firm inform NHAI that there was widespread violation of rules? Why is the firm's version to NHAI different from what it has shared with the media? And if there are no violations, who is pocketing the money collected from so many thousands of vehicles? Is it a clear case of under-reporting? Is anyone trying to make hay?
Perhaps, it is only the toll operator-cum-highway maintaining agency that can answer these questions. Even NHAI officials need to start analysing data to check anomalies, if any.
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