Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA and Yuva Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray has demanded scrapping of all the five toll plazas at Mumbai entry points.
In a letter to the BMC commissioner and administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal, the younger Thackeray also questioned the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), which has been collecting toll and revenues from hoardings on both the Western and Eastern Express Highways, despite the BMC maintaining it.
“Why should Mumbaikars pay toll to the MSRDC when the BMC maintains both the Western and Eastern Express Highway,” asked Thackeray.
Read the full letter here:
He has alleged that there are no real changes in the upkeep of these arterial roads, and the toll plazas at Mumbai's entry points create nuisance with traffic snarls and pollution, wasting time, energy and money of commuters daily.
Thackeray has demanded immediate relief to Mumbaikars with scrapping of toll plazas.
“Mumbaikars are some of the highest contributors to revenues of Union and state governments, but are being unfairly charged twice. Why should we pay a toll tax for a government-backed corporation that has nothing to do with the roads we use?” questioned the young legislator from Worli Vidhan Sabha constituency.
He has asked BMC to completely do away with the tolls at entry points of Mumbai and the state government issue a one-time settlement with MSRDC for tolls that have been operational for more than 20 years.
Talking about additional revenue for the civic corporation, Thackeray claimed that advertisement hoarding revenue across the WEH and EH goes to the MSRDC even after the handover of Mumbai roads to BMC.
“It is purely an economic argument about the burden of direct and indirect taxation that has caused a loss to Mumbaikars in terms of traffic, time, energy and money that must be rectified at the earliest,” he said.
