HC stays toll collection on Doddaballapur highway

Government was unable to confirm that work on the State Highway has been completed

The Karnataka High Court on Monday stayed collection of toll on Bengaluru-Doddaballapur State Highway as the government was unable to provide complete details on whether the specific works, which were not completed when the permission for collecting toll was granted last year based on the claim that 75% of the works were completed, have been completed.

A division bench comprising Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the interim order on two PIL petitions complaining that the collection of toll is permitted even though several works of upgrading the SH were not completed. The toll collection was permitted during September last year based on a provisional certificate that 75% of the road improvement works were completed.

As it was contended on behalf of the petitioners in November that 75% of the works were not completed as claimed in the provisional certificate submitted by the company executing the project, the court on November 19, 2019 had directed the government to ascertaining whether the work has been completed.

And if the work is not fully completed, the court said, the government will have to justify granting permission for collection of toll while also directing the government to independently apply its mind and ascertain whether 75% of the total length of the project has been completed as claimed in the report of an independent engineer.

The court directed the government, the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL), M/s Aarvee Associates Architects Engineers Consultants Pvt. Ltd. (company executing project), and M/s Yelahanka AP Boarder Toll Way Pvt. Ltd. not to collect toll until further orders as the affidavit filed by the government on Monday did not contain answers on the status of specific works that remained incomplete last year though it was claimed that more than 80% works had been completed.