Hyderabad: Private agencies which have been carrying out operation and maintenance on the 159 km Outer Ring Road have been posing a grave threat to commuters, by allowing three wheelers, heavily loaded passenger and goods vehicles. By conveniently violating the norms, private agencies have not only been risking commuters’ lives, but also denting Rs 20 lakh revenue on a daily basis. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority admitted the violations on the ORR and said that ETC (electronic toll collection) is the only solution to prevent irregularities and enhance transparency.
According to an HMDA official, Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited (HGCL), the following have been the stake holders of ORR since 2005: An SPV set up with 100 per cent equity participation of the HMDA and registered under the Companies Act in December, 2005 for the purpose of building and operating the ORR; National Payments Corporation of India for operating retail payments and settlement systems; Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL), the nodal agency for FASTag, a pan India inter-operable ETC system rolled out by the Government of India for national highways under the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program; ICICI Bank- Acquiring and Issuing Bank; Project awardee by way of competitive bidding to Efkon AG and their Indian subsidiary Efkon India; Nippon-Koei: Project Management Consultant for the project; ITS Planners and Engineers: Technical consultant and IRB, toll collection agency.
Due to lack of co-ordination between the different stakeholders there have been several operational and financial issues in toll collection.
Cyberabad police has booked 23,247 no parking cases, 26 overloading cases 182 pedestrian crossing cases, 304 private vehicles carrying passengers, 96 excess passenger and 1,251 two wheelers travelling on the ORR in the past six months. The toll agency is also not providing the accurate number of vehicles travelling on the ORR to the HMDA and swindling about Rs 20 lakh on a daily basis.
When queried about the same, an official from the HMDA admitted the discrepancies in toll management and said that ETC system would resolve the issue permanently.
