Anti-toll agitation causes law & order situation in Western Maharashtra

MUMBAI: An agitation against the road toll tax in Western Maharashtra resulted in people coming out on the streets in large numbers and shutting down shops and establishments. On Thursday the city of Kolhapur observed a daylong bandh to protest new toll tax in the city.

The action committee against road toll tax supported by opposition parties in Maharashtra took out a march in the city and demanded that the toll tax be withdrawn. There were attacks on the toll collection booths reported earlier in the city.

The toll is going to be collected by IRB under its road development agreement with various pubic bodies. Political groups in Kolhapur had expressed their ire at toll charges and against being charged for internal city roads. IRB said that this was a concession agreement between them, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation. The agreement ensured that IRB would implement an integrated road development plan in Kolhapur on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. The agreement also expressly provided that IRB would be permitted to collect the toll for a period of 30 years.

Earlier the Bombay High Court had directed the state security corporation, to provide security to IRB Integrated Road Development at its toll collection booths in Kolhapur. A bench of Justice V M Kanade and Justice Suresh Gupte while hearing a petition by IRB after an attacks on its toll booths in Kolhapur, directed the agents to approach the security corporation. State Government counsel said that they could not assign police cover at toll booths but the government clarified that IRB was free to seek protection from the specially established security corporation.