Punjab: CM Bhagwant Mann landed at the Lachowal toll barrier to make the Hoshiarpur-Tanda road toll-free on a day when the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) laid siege to 18 toll plazas across 10 districts. He directed that the toll barrier be removed after its term expired yesterday.
State roads would be toll-free until January 15
Since the KMSC had already announced that the state roads would be toll-free until January 15, the CM’s order is seen as a tactical move to build AAP’s pro-people image and pre-empt any attempt by the committee to claim credit for it.
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What do government officials claim?
Government officials, on the other hand, claimed that the CM’s visit was part of an ongoing effort to prosecute erring toll operators. When the CM announced the closure of two toll barriers on the Sangrur-Ludhiana highway on September 5, he also stated that all toll plazas in the state would be closed on that date. The CM displayed a copy of a FIR filed against Lachowal toll operator PD Agrawal Infrastructure Ltd, claiming it earned Rs 105 crore for a road constructed by the state for Rs 7.76 crore in 2007. He alleged, “All previous governments overlooked the violations by the toll operator, who earned Rs 7 crore per year for the past 15 years.” The company was now asking for an extension for “loss” due to lockdown and farmers’ agitation. He asked, “When there was no investment by the company, how did it suffer any loss.” According to Mahendra Agarwal, MD of PD Agrawal Infrastructure Ltd, “The FIR is baseless. The government was asking us to pay Rs 15 crore for damages, but actually it owes us Rs 12 crore.”
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