CM Eknath Shinde’s Rs 920-crore pre-poll bonanza for motorists: Toll-free travel

Vehicles halted at Dahisar toll plaza on Monday, the last day of toll for LMVs. Pic/Nimesh Dave

With an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections, the Mahayuti-led state government has officially exempted light motor vehicles (LMVs), along with school and state transport buses, from paying toll at Mumbai's five entry and exit points. These are located at Vashi, Airoli, Mulund (LBS Road), Anand Nagar (Eastern Express Highway) and Dahisar. The government claimed that this decision would benefit around 2.8 lakh car/LMV owners who are entering or exiting the city. As per official data from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) for August 2024, an average of 2.06 lakh light vehicles passed through the five toll plazas daily.

Entry into and exit from Mumbai will be toll-free for light motor vehicles, starting today. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Currently, the LMVs pay Rs 45 and Rs 75, depending on their respective categories, for one-way travel at the five toll plazas. The tax is collected to maintain the city's flyovers for the past 14 years. While the state cabinet completely waived off the toll for light motor vehicles (LMVs), including private and commercial ones such as cars, vans and mini trucks/school/ST buses, the data for August 2024 from MSRDC stated that 61.93 lakh vehicles passed through all five toll plazas in Mumbai on a monthly basis, which means on an average, 2.06 lakh vehicles pass daily. As per the figure, the toll operator will incur a loss to the tune of Rs 1.26 crore per day, Rs 37.8 crore monthly and around Rs 460 crore per year.

The government will compensate MSRDC for the exemption. A committee led by the chief secretary will decide the compensation amount. The agreement with the current collection agency, Mumbai Entry Points Limited (MEPL) will exist till November 2026, and after that state-owned MSRDC will collect the tax for the period till September 2027.

Minister of Public Works and head of MSRDC, Dada Bhuse said, "Around 3.50 lakh vehicles use the entry/exit daily. Of these, 70,000 are heavy vehicles while the rest are LMVs (2.8 lakh. The waiver will save commuters time and money. The government had the idea on its agenda for many months, and a decision in this regard was taken on Monday." The minister did not have the data on school and state transport buses that use the entry points.

Masterstroke: CM

Commenting on the decision, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that motorists arriving at the Mumbai entry points from all over Maharashtra faced traffic jams at the toll plazas. "People had been demanding toll exemption. Some moved the court. With our decision, the commute time will be saved, pollution will be reduced and traffic jams eased. It will also save the motorists fuel cost," he said, calling it a historic decision and masterstroke. He said the decision was not just for the elections, but a permanent one.

Better late than never: Raj

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, whose party has waged many street battles against successive governments for toll-free roads and succeeded to some extent, congratulated his party workers, the commuters and the government. But he questioned whether the toll exemption was given just for gains in the election or if it would be permanent.

"Congratulations to all the citizens living within the MMR area and big congratulations to my Maharashtra Sainiks. They fought hard for the demands that there be transparency in toll transactions, and that if the road works are paid for through the money collected, they should be toll-free. We were criticised for vandalising the toll booths, but whatever the government mechanism, they don't acknowledge the seriousness of an issue unless extreme steps are taken," Thackeray said on X. "Anyway… at least Mumbaikars got toll-free roads and our struggle bore fruit. It is a matter of happiness that our agitation was quite successful. I would want to congratulate the state government for this, but they should assure the people that this is not a decision taken just for the election," he added.

He said Mumbai has become toll-free, but not before many people staked their fortunes through this game. "They must all be investigated. But I am not so sure if that will ever happen, because nobody knows who all have their interests tangled in it. At least Mumbaikars got freed from the burden of toll, and that's reason to be happy," the MNS chief stated.

His message for his party's rank and file said, "From now on, whenever someone asks what happened to your toll agitations, proudly quote the Mumbai example and say that once we pick up a cause, we see it to the bitter end. And that we don't rest until we've reached our objectives."

Why only Mumbai: Bhiwandi MLA

Rais Shaikh, Samajwadi Party legislator from Bhiwandi East, demanded a complete toll waiver for LMVs across the state. He said the toll waiver for Mumbai entry points would amount to discrimination against citizens in the rest of the state. "The five main roads of Mumbai entry point are never repaired by the toll companies in time. However, to date, vehicles had to pay toll on all these five routes. This is looting of the people. I have written multiple letters to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on the roads not being repaired despite toll collection and demanding a waiver," Shaikh said.

Shaikh further stated that there are toll collection companies everywhere in the state bypassing the laws. "Consider the example of Nashik Highway where the toll company does not repair the highway but collects toll at Padgha. It is looting. This is going on in many districts of the state," he said, adding that the Union government issued a circular in 2013 that information about toll collection be provided on the website. "However, all the toll companies and states have thrown this order in the dustbin. Hundreds of toll plazas are still running despite recovering the cost of the road. If the government keeps a strict watch on the toll companies, 50 per cent of the toll plazas in the state will be closed," said Shaikh.

Private firm profited: Activist

Based on the data submitted to his queries under the Right to Information Act, Mumbai-based activist Anil Galgali alleged that the private toll operating company was given an opportunity to earn huge profits. "There are many flyovers which were constructed prior to the year 2000 at the cost of the state exchequer, for which toll is being collected. Private entities like MEP Infrastructure are being given opportunities to earn huge profits, which is very surprising," Galgali said in a press release.

Toll waiver FAQs

>> What types of vehicles does the waiver apply to?
Light motor vehicles (passenger cars/SUVs), school buses and buses of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).

>> Does the waiver apply to eligible vehicles entering/exiting the city?
Yes, it applies to vehicles plying both ways.

>> Will toll gates be shut and removed completely?
No. The toll gates will not be shut as toll charges will be applicable for light commercial vehicles (LCVs), trucks/ buses (private) and multi-axle vehicles (MAVs).

>> What about eligible vehicles displaying FASTags?
No clarity has been given by authorities on the motorists who have prepaid for a FASTag monthly pass. MSRDC officials told mid-day that a decision regarding the same will be taken at the earliest.

>> What about lane management? Will eligible vehicles be identified manually?
There are dedicated lanes for LMVs and separate ones for heavy vehicles (trucks/ buses and MAVs. Those lanes meant for LMVs at the majority of five toll plazas are narrower than those meant for heavy vehicles. Hence there won't be issues with lane management. The lanes meant for heavy vehicles are on the extreme left. At places where there are chances of heavy vehicles getting into the wrong lane, attendants at the toll plaza will manually scan and collect toll.

Confusion at toll plaza

On Monday evening, mid-day's photojournalist Nimesh Dave visited the Dahisar Toll Naka on the Western Express Highway. "I arrived at the Dahisar toll plaza around 7.30 pm and asked about the government's decision regarding toll waiver for cars and SUVs post midnight. The staff member there told me there was some confusion, and that toll would still be charged for cars and SUVs entering Mumbai, while the exemption applied only to those leaving the city," Dave reported. When Dave inquired whether the FASTag scanner would be disabled post-midnight, the staff member explained that they couldn't turn off the FASTag scanner, as other vehicles like buses, trucks, and MAVs also use FASTags. It is still unclear whether the toll operator will refund the monthly pass fees that many car owners have already paid for.