The government should come clear on its decision to shut down the toll plaza at Sarore in district Samba because if the same was against the set rules of toll plazas then the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is bound to refund the money collected from commuters since the inception of the aforesaid plaza and if it was as per guidelines then why the same has been closed now?
There was another aspect with regard to toll plazas as far as Union Territories are concerned, because reportedly many organizations have demanded in the past that all the toll plazas should be abolished in Jammu and Kashmir claiming that as per convention there are no toll plazas in any of the Union Territories across the country. This issue also needs to be addressed by the concerned authorities because the rules for being a Union Territory should be the same without any discrimination. If no other Union Territory has a toll plaza then how would the authorities justify the presence of toll plazas in this youngest Union Territory in India?
Looking at the scenario with regard to toll plaza woes of the people, it could be said that the government is quite inconsistent over the issue and the victims are the people of J&K and those who visit this Union Territory and travel on its highways by road.
Reports have averred that the closure of Sarore Toll Plaza has been followed by the hike in toll in the Ban and Lakhanpur Toll Plazas, which is again irksome and arguable because the decision will increase travel cost that too when the highway is under pathetic condition due to construction of expressway at several stretches.
It is unfortunate that the NHAI is projecting the move to close the aforesaid toll plaza as bountiful but the matter of fact is that by raising the toll at two other plazas, it has ensured that in reality no relief is given to the commuters travelling on the aforesaid stretches. The government being a welfare state should not act in the manner to deceive the people by manipulating things as following the rules is the best policy and the government should ensure that no rule is broken while creating the maze of toll plazas across the country.
