State discusses toll tax to raise revenue
The entire country now has to pay high tolls for traveling on national highways. Most states also collect tolls on state highways. One of the exceptional states is West Bengal. Highways constructed by the state government can be traveled without toll. However, if the idea of a part of the government is implemented, toll may have to be calculated on all these roads in the future.According to government sources, the State Road Works Department has started exploring the possibility of installing tolls on the 18 state highways under their control. The heads of the department are scheduled to sit in a meeting in Navanna on this Monday.According to a senior engineer in the Works Department, state highways are shorter in length and relatively less wide than national highways. But the road quality is the same. Indian Road Congress standards are maintained in the construction of state highways as well as national highways. The construction cost per kilometer is also the same. The same technology is used in both cases. But the National Highways Authority collects huge amount of tolls to maintain the roads and invest the surplus money in building new roads. State highways are the responsibility of the government.A government official said that in all but a few states, states collect tolls on state highways. In the past several attempts to impose tolls in the state also stopped midway. The West Bengal Highways Act, 1964 was also amended a few years ago for the purpose of collecting tolls. Still, the current government has not followed the path of toll collection.The government official said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not agree to install the toll. She did not want to increase the financial pressure on the public. But the situation has improved a lot in the last few years. According to the official, the idea is to keep agricultural areas toll-free. Besides, if someone has a problem to pay toll, there is an opportunity to travel through alternative roads now. There are roads parallel to the state highway everywhere.According to the head of the Department of Works, if the department approves the proposal to install tolls in today’s meeting, it will be presented to the Chief Minister. She will take the final decision. As a result, it is not possible to say now that the toll tax will be imposed. The matter is at the stage of contemplation.
