HC flags weekend gridlock at Parwanoo, proposes unified collection at Sanwara

Traffic snarls and the meandering, unending queue of vehicles at a barrier near Timber Trail in Parwanoo may soon find a way out, with the Himachal Pradesh High Court suggesting that the State and its functionaries explore the feasibility of a common facility at the barrier/collection centre at Sanwara—15 kilometers ahead.

The suggestion came after a Division Bench of Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma took suo motu cognisance of the recurring chaos caused at the entry tax collection point near Timber Trail on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway.

The Bench was hearing a petition filed in public interest against Himachal Pradesh and other respondents by law student Uttansh Monga through counsel Ganesh Barowalia on the issue of toll barriers. He was, among other things, seeking reprisal regarding the “undue hardship and financial burden caused by the illegal and discriminatory imposition of toll fees at the toll barriers situated not only on the national highway, but also on roads constructed and maintained by authorities other than NHAI in areas bordering Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.” Taking up the matter, the court enlarged the scope of the public interest litigation.

The Bench observed that commuters were driving their way into inconvenience at the tax collection point, especially during weekends when traffic volumes soared. The court added that currently, vehicles—regardless of registration—were forced to line up at the barrier due to the absence of a separate lane for Himachal Pradesh-registered vehicles, which were stated to be exempt from the tax. With just two or three operational lanes, the arrangement was leading to long queues and sluggish movement, defeating the very purpose of the exemption.

“It has come to our notice that the Himachal Pradesh (HP) entry tax, which is collected on the Chandigarh-Shimla Highway near Timber Trail, is causing a lot of inconvenience to the general public. On weekends, as there are only 2/3 lanes for the incoming traffic and there is no such provision for a free lane for HP-registered vehicles, which are stated to have been exempted as such from entry tax, all vehicles have to line up,” the Bench added.

The court asserted that the Sanwara toll plaza—set up by the NHAI—was equipped with multiple lanes on either side of the highway, allowing for smoother flow and better handling of traffic. “It is to be noticed that there is another barrier/collection centre at Sanwara, set up by the NHAI, which has multiple lanes on both sides of the highway, which is approximately 15 kilometres away. Therefore, it would be appropriate if the respondents could consider having a common facility at the barrier/collection centre at Sanwara and the fees could be charged at the common collection centre or an alternative site be identified where there is more space, keeping in view the fact that there are no other entry points available being a hill road,” the Bench asserted.

The matter has been listed for August 29 after the respondents sought time to file their reply.