Mumbai: The issue of abolition of toll tax for small vehicles across the state came to fore again on Monday even as the MNS and the Congress accused the state government of large-scale corruption in the collection of toll tax.
While MRCC President Varsha Gaikwad in her post on microblogging site X said, “Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has accepted the large-scale corruption, MNS workers staged agitation at various toll plazas across the state after party Chief Raj Thackeray termed toll collection as the biggest scam and warned the government of rationalizing it.”
Fadnavis, as Chief Minister of the state had abolished toll tax for all four wheelers on 53 toll plazas in the state while closing down 12 toll plazas in 2015. A decision to grant compensation to toll plaza operators too was taken in 2017 and a government resolution too was issued in this regard on August 31, 2017. He circulated his statement in the assembly in this regard as well as the government resolution after MNS chief Raj Thackeray addressed a press conference accusing toll collection to be the biggest scam in the state. MRCC President Varsha Gaikwad too took to microblogging site X over the issue and demanded that a probe be launched to inquire into where this money being collected for lakhs of vehicles for over the past five years is going to?
"Fadnavis has in a way accepted the corruption in toll collection. Now it needs to be searched as to in whose pockets this money goes?" she asked in her post.
Thorat lashes out at Maha govt
Another senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, who was speaking to media at Nashik, too lashed out at the government over the issue.
"The triple engine government has led to an all round deterioration of the state. Even the major roads across the state are lost in potholes, what is it that this government is collecting toll for," Thorat asked. He also narrated his experience of the Mumbai-Nashik highway. "For a journey of hardly 2.5 hours now one needs over 4 hours. The potholes are leading to traffic snarls so long that passengers have to wait for hours together at one single place. If the potholes are going to stay and roads are not going to be repaired, why should the people pay toll tax," Thorat asked, who was at Nashik to attend the North Maharashtra regional committee meeting of the party,
Thorat also said that the party had raised voice over the issue during the monsoon session and the government had even assured that the issue will be resolved. However, the government has not kept its promise, he said.
MNS workers stage protest at toll plazas across state
Meanwhile, the MNS workers staged protests at several toll plazas across the state. At some of the toll plazas around Mumbai they even showed DCM Fadnavis' video about exclusion of small four wheelers from toll tax at 53 toll plazas in the state in order to create awareness about the issue in the state. They even forced the toll operators to let go vehicles without charging toll tax at several of the toll plazas.
