Locals Oppose FASTag Tolls In Kawal Tiger Reserve

ADILABAD: Local residents using four-wheelers have sought exemption from toll fees at the FASTag checkposts set up at four locations in the Kawal Tiger Reserve in the erstwhile Adilabad district.

Forest officials had installed FASTag systems at Utnoor, Thapalpur, Pandavpur, and Kalamadugu, but removed them following protests from locals and opposition from Khanapur MLA Vedma Bojju. Under the system, toll charges would be automatically deducted upon scanning the FASTag on vehicles.

Bojju said the forest department must first identify local residents who regularly use cars or jeeps within the area and exempt them from checkpost charges. Otherwise, he warned, locals would not allow the department to establish FASTag checkposts.

FASTag posts were originally set up to collect tolls from car, jeep, and heavy vehicle owners who use the road through the Kawal Tiger Reserve toward the Mancherial, Adilabad, and Nirmal districts.

The state government had earlier relaxed restrictions on the movement of heavy vehicles in the reserve from 6 am to 9 pm. The decision was taken during the State Board for Wildlife meeting on August 4, after which formal orders were issued.

Forest staff had proposed collecting ₹150 for heavy transport vehicles and ₹50 for cars, jeeps, and vans.

Local residents said that since they frequently travel within the Khanapur Assembly constituency, much of which falls inside the reserve, they would be forced to pay ₹100-₹150 each time they move between villages.

Bojju clarified that he is not opposed to the forest department or FASTag checkposts, but said he should have been informed beforehand as the local MLA and a member of the Wildlife Board.

He insisted that the department must identify all car and jeep owners residing within the constituency and exempt them from toll charges. He pointed out that residents coming to Utnoor to meet him often pass through two FASTag checkposts, at Utnoor and Pandavpur, and would have to pay ₹50 at each, creating a financial burden for party workers and the general public. Some leaders have even started using motorcycles temporarily to avoid the toll.

Many government employees, including teachers who commute daily between villages in the constituency, have also complained to the MLA about being charged ₹50 each time. Even local farmers transporting vegetables and cotton in vans and jeeps are facing similar difficulties due to the proposed toll collection.