MSRDC spends Rs119 crore on maintenance, while MEP collects toll

Moneylife Digital Team 15 April 2016

Over the past 17 years, MSRDC spent money on maintenance of 31 flyovers in and around Mumbai. However, since 2010-11, MEP Infrastructure is collecting toll at five Mumbai entry points and thus should have done the maintenance, says an RTI activist

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corp (MSRDC) has spent Rs119.44 crore on maintaining 31 flyovers, which was the responsibility of private toll collecting agency, reveals a reply received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

As per the information received by RTI activist Anil Galgali, in the past 17 years, MSRDC has spent Rs119.44 crore on maintenance of the roads and flyovers. However, since 2010-11, MEP Infrastructure Pvt Ltd was awarded the toll collection contract for just Rs2,242.35 crore and thus the responsibility for maintenance rest with this private contractor, Galgali says.

Till, 2010-11, the MSRDC itself was collecting toll from five entry points in Mumbai. During FY1999-2000, it collected Rs28.35 crore, FY2000-01 Rs56.57 crore, FY2001-02 Rs65.12 crore, FY2002-03 Rs476.84 crore and so on. The year before the contract was allotted to MEP Infrastructure, the state-run Corporation earned Rs231.39 crore from toll in FY2009-10, the RTI reply reveals.

The MSRDC has spent Rs1,058.34 crore for building 31 flyovers in and around Mumbai.

However, Galgali, says, he did not get any information on toll collected over the past five years from the five entry points in Mumbai since MEP took over the job. "There are many flyovers, which were constructed prior to 2000 at the cost of the state exchequer, for which too toll is being collected. In addition, private entities like MEP Infrastructure are being given opportunities to earn huge profits, which is very surprising. At one end, the state government is talking of closing down all the toll booths, but there is no proposal to close these five toll nakas as specified by the MSRDC," he said.

Last year, following directions from the Maharashtra State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC), nearly 10,000 pages have been uploaded on the websites of Public Works Department (PWD) and MSRDC comprising toll contracts, as well as, toll collections of 16 projects of MSRDC and 42 projects of PWD. Strangely, the toll collection of Pune-Mumbai Expressway and five Mumbai entry points were not uploaded.

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