Haryana Govt fails to remove toll plaza, people up in arms

Sumedha Sharma

Gurugram, May 14

With Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar slated to visit Gurugram for ‘Raahgiri’ on May 21 in Sector 79, residents have announced that they would boycott the event. The residents of new Gurugram sectors and villages around Kherki Daula toll plaza are up against the CM for allegedly not fulfilling his promise of removing it for the past seven years. #BoycottRaahgiri, too, has been trending on social media.

It’s taxing

Lakhs of residents are paying an average of Rs 160 daily while commuting within the city. The AQI is always poor owing to vehicular pollution and the government isn’t doing anything about it. We are boycotting the event. Praveen Malik, President, United Association of New Gurugram

The residents claim that with the opening of the Dwarka Expressway, they will have to pay three tolls in order to move in any direction.

It may be noted that residents of villages, societies, RWAs of colonies, representatives of industrial associations and workers unions have been fighting for the removal of the plaza. The protestors claim that the government has lied to them and kept promising that it would be shifted to Pachgaon, but no action has been taken. They allege that the toll is being taken to foot the bill of KMP construction and bank loan recovery.

The Delhi-Gurugram Expressway was constructed in 2007 by the DS Construction Company.

In the same year, toll collection began at Sarhaul border and Kherki Daula. While the Sarhaul toll plaza was removed in 2014, the issue of the Kherki Duala toll plaza removal remains unresolved.