Minister Prashanth Reddy demands Centre to withdraw proposed toll tax hike

Minister Prashanth Reddy said the toll being collected by the NHAI was already burdening the people of the State and if it was hiked, it would further affect them

Hyderabad: Strongly opposing the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) proposal to increase toll rates from April 1, Roads and Buildings Minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy demanded the Centre to immediately drop the proposal.

In a letter written to union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday, Prashanth Reddy said the toll being collected by the NHAI was already burdening the people of the State and if it was hiked, it would further affect them.

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He said the Centre had collected over Rs 9,000 crore in the last nine years through 32 toll gates in the State. “This means that half of the money spent on construction of roads by the Centre in the State has already been collected by it from the people of Telangana through toll tax,”he pointed out.

The Minister said though the Centre had sanctioned Rs 1,25,176 crore for construction of roads in the last nine years for 113 National Highway projects and Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) works in the State, it has spent only Rs 20,350 crore.

He said that the Centre has been collecting crores of rupees in form of cess on petrol and diesel from people of Telangana, but it was not being used for the development of the State. He asked the union government to immediately withdraw the proposal to hike the toll tax.