Ernakulam: Kerala HC questioned the central government’s move to hike the toll for Paliyekkara toll plaza where the central government informed the Kerala high court that it will decide within 3 days whether to increase the toll at Paliyekkara toll plaza as the toll collection remain suspended currently due to severe road congestion and traffic snarls.
“All solution could have worked out long back”, HC to center
During Monday’s hearing, the judges criticized the Centre for proposing a tariff increase before addressing the congestion. “Only 5 km of this 65 km stretch is affected. A solution could have been worked out instead of increasing the toll. You are now looking only from the contractor’s perspective,” the court observed.
The court’s division bench, comprising Justices A Muhammed Mustaque and Harisankar V Menon, questioned the Centre’s move to propose a tariff hike on the stretch of NH 544, highlighting the ongoing road safety and traffic issues. “Severe congestion persists in multilevel traffic areas…We don’t know who is the loser in this game, but commuters cannot be,” the bench remarked.
Earlier, the court had asked the Centre to clarify how toll collection should operate during prolonged traffic jams, including whether commuters should receive a pro-rata deduction or if the toll should remain suspended until issues are resolved.
Following the Supreme court intervention, toll collection at Paliyekkara toll plaza was suspended for 4 weeks. However, it was extended following a PIL submitted in the court citing passenger traffic snarls and congestion.