The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Toll to be levied on motor vehicles in IT corridor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 04, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Toll to be levied on motor vehicles in IT corridor

By T. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI, MARCH 3. The State Government has decided to levy a toll on motor vehicles plying on the IT (Information Technology) corridor from the Madhya Kailash junction to Siruseri via Taramani junction, after improvement of the stretch of the road here.

A notification, issued on Wednesday, said the rates would be in force from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2036. Motor vehicles have been categorised into six — three-wheelers, car/jeep, light commercial vehicle, bus, truck and multiaxle vehicle. For each category, a separate rate per single journey has been mentioned. The rates will generally be hiked every two years, beginning July 2006.

In the initial two-year segment of the project period (July 2006-June 2008), the rates (per single journey) will be Rs. 5 for a three-wheeler, Rs. 15 for car/jeep, Rs. 25 for light commercial vehicle, Rs. 40 for bus, Rs. 60 for truck and Rs. 120 for multiaxle vehicle.

A week ago, the Highways Department and the IT Expressway Limited (ITEL), a special purpose vehicle floated for the project, signed an agreement to execute the improvement work in the IT corridor. Under phase-I, the 20-km-long stretch from the Madhya Kailash junction to Siruseri will be strengthened and widened to six lanes at a cost of Rs. 200 crores.

Cycles, two-wheelers, funeral vehicles, tractors, non-motorised vehicles of any kind, fish-carts, Postal department vehicles, ambulances, fire tenders and vehicles used by the Central and State forces in uniform have been exempted from the toll.

Also exempted are autorickshaws and cars owned by bona fide local residents living along the project road, apart from official vehicles transporting and accompanying dignitaries such as the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, the Governor/Lt. Governor and Chief Ministers. Buses of Metropolitan Transport Corporation operating within the city limits will also be exempted.

Rationale

Explaining the rationale behind the notification of the toll rates prior to the commencement of the improvement work, official sources say it has been done to infuse confidence in potential investors that the project will generate assured returns. Besides, funds from financial institutions at "low interest rates" can be tapped. The move will also enable ITEL to achieve financial closure at the earliest. It has been planned to mobilise Rs. 80 crores to Rs. 90 crores from the FIs while the State Government's contribution will be Rs. 34 crores.

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