NHAI plea rejected, no toll at Ladhowal till April 24 : The Tribune India

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NHAI plea rejected, no toll at Ladhowal till April 24

LUDHIANA: Permanent Lok Adalat (PLA) on Friday refused to consider the plea of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) which had sought review of the orders stopping collection of toll tax at the Ladhowal toll barrier in Ludhiana.



Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 20

Permanent Lok Adalat (PLA) on Friday refused to consider the plea of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) which had sought review of the orders stopping collection of toll tax at the Ladhowal toll barrier in Ludhiana.

General Manager and Project Director of NHAI VK Sharma today appeared at the PLA, Kapurthala, where he sought relaxation from the court.

In an application submitted to the court, the NHAI states: “The project of Panipat-Jalandhar National Highway 1 is based on a revenue-sharing model in which 28.14 per cent of the toll collection goes to the Government of India through the NHAI and the stoppage of toll will cause a huge loss to the government as well as to the concessionaire. We have in due deference to the order passed by the Lokayukta on April 17 stopped collection of toll immediately after the order was communicated which is causing huge revenue loss.

“Without prejudice to our aforesaid stand, the concessionaire has complied with the direction of the court. We, therefore, request you to review, modify or recall the directions stopping the charging of toll tax immediately as the said direction was passed till the compliance of the order dated April 15”.

However, the court order, a copy of which is with The Tribune, states: “Application of the project director, NHAI, produced seeking immediate relief to review, modify or recall the directions stopping the charges of the Ladhowal toll tax barrier immediately as the company and the government are facing a major financial loss. The file has been requisitioned by the office of Member Secretary, Punjab State Legal Services Authority, Mohali. In the absence of the judicial file, no proceedings can be taken. So this application be put up for awaiting the file, i.e. April 24, the date already fixed in the case”.

Acting on a petition filed by Advocate Manit Malhotra against the NHAI for its failure to remove encroachments along the National Highway and ignoring safety norms, the PLA on April 17 ordered the NHAI to not charge toll at the Ladhowal plaza until it complied with the court orders issued on April 15.

Manit said the NHAI officials appeared before the court to seek relief but the court decided to hear petition on April 24, till then toll barrier will remain suspended.

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