Advocate demands NHAI to shut down toll gate

SHILLONG, APR 5: An advocate of the East Jaintia Hills District Court has served a three-month ultimatum to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to close down one of the two toll gates in Jaintia Hills failing which legal action will be taken.

In a letter to the Project Director of NHAI, Shillong on April 4, Kynjaimon Amse said, “I therefore call upon you to act on the statement of the Hon’ble Minister and to close down one of the toll gates in Jaintia Hills District within a period of 3 months. The NHAI should either close down Ialong (Pasyih) or Lumshnong toll gate within a period of 3 months.”

“Collections of toll both after the expiry of the three months’ period in both of these toll gates will be highly illegal and against the law hence NHAI should act on this matter. Continuance of toll collection in both the toll gates after 3 months will be viewed seriously and will certainly invite legal actions from my end,” he said.

Amse also referred to the statement made by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highway in the Lok Sabha on the 22nd March 2022that “There shall be no toll gate within 60 KMs distance along the national highway between one toll gate and another and that the Govt. of India through the Minister has also stated that if there are more than one toll gate within a stretch of 60 KMs, the excess shall be shut down within the next 3 months.”

“Needless to say that these statements made by the Minister are the position of the Government of India and the same having been made before the Parliament should be honored in letter and spirit,” he said.

The advocate said that the distance between the two toll gates is just about 53 Kms approximately from each other and as a matter of fact there are two gates in Jaintia Hills within a gap of 60 KMs which falls under the category that has stated by the Minister.

He said as per The National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules 2008, the distance between two adjacent toll booths should be a minimum of 60 KMs which in other words means there should not be more than one toll both within 60 KMs along the National Highway.

By Our Reporter