Maharashtra to shut down 12 toll booths; to be applicable from 1 June 2015

MUMBAI: In a major policy decision the Maharashtra government has decided to shut down 12 toll booths in the state and also exempt private vehicles like cars and jeeps and State Transport buses from paying tolls in 53 other toll booths in the state.

The decision would be applicable from 1 June 2015. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made this announcement in the state assembly on Friday.

The decision will come as a huge relief for many in Maharashtra who had to pay through their noses for toll. Crucially there is good news even for those living in Mumbai as the state government has said that they would also be taking a decision on the five toll booths in Mumbai in June. Fadnavis said that the decision on the Mumbai toll booths would be taken under a committee formed under Co-operation Minister Chandrakant Patil.

The toll booth issue played an important part in the 2014 Maharashtra assembly campaign with the BJP promising to make Maharashtra ‘toll free’.