Company nets Rs 90 crore without finishing highway work
Picture for representational purpose
Chennai: An infra major has reportedly collected toll to the tune of several crores for a yet to be completed six lane project on NH-4 for over a year. Essel Walajahpet Poonamallee Toll Road Private Ltd, a special purpose vehicle floated for the Rs1,288 crore six-laning of the 96-km Wallajah-Pooanamallee stretch of NH-4, was awarded the work in mid 2013. The company has been collecting toll ever since the project’s concession period started on June 1, 2013. Curiously, the company is learnt to have stopped the project in a few months from then and still went about collecting toll allegedly as per revised rates till date.
Following representations made by associations of truck operators, the then Vellore collector P. Sankar issued an order (copy of which is available with DC) in August 2013 to the NHAI instructing them to continue collecting fee as per the structure set before January 1, 2013, till the implementation of the project. Curiously, a few months later, the NHAI issued an order in April 2014 allowing the company to revise the toll structure. Meanwhile, truckers once again approached Vellore and Kancheepuram district collectors and police superintendents against the excess toll collection. On Wednesday, a NHAI technical manager appeared before a deputy police superintendent in Vellore and allayed his apprehensions.
TN Lorry Owners Federation president R. Sugumar says, “the Vanagaram-Wallajah stretch is still a four-lane but they have been collecting toll for six-lane, which remains only on paper, since mid 2013. NHAI has passed orders to revise the toll structure in April and they have collected excess fare, thereby generating nearly '90 crore in a year and a half for a non-existing road.” Federation vice-president S. Yuvaraja accused the firm of not paying due share to the government despite collecting toll.
A highly placed NHAI officer said, “It is a BOT (build, operate and transfer) project. The company’s concession period starts from June 1, 2013. They are eligible to collect toll for the four-lane project from the date of commencement of the project as they make all the investment in the project and owe premium to the government as well.”
But he admitted that the company had stopped work owing to fund crunch. “NH does not fall within the collector’s jurisdiction. I do not know in what capacity the order was issued. The fee structure is revised every April for all toll roads in accordance with the variation in wholesale price index. The company is only collecting toll for four-lane and there is no such six-lane fee structure as of now,” the officer said.
The company has applied to GoI for deferment of payment of premium and also assured to restart the project before mid December, he added.
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