File Photo: Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court today said the common man should not suffer and pay full toll tax for roads that are in bad shape. In the process, the court criticised the Central policies that allow private companies to get away with providing bad service.
"If the roads are bad, why should people suffer and pay toll? Why should people suffer because of government's bad policy or policy lapse?" said a two-judge bench of Justice TS Thakur and Justice Kurian Joesph.
The court reduced the toll to 20% on a 26-km stretch on the national highway 6 between Raipur and Durg n Chhattisgarh. The government had already reduced the toll on the stretch by 40%.
The case pertained to a petition filed by DSC Ventures, the company collecting toll on stretch concerned.
Earlier, the Chhattisgarh High Court had ordered the firm to repair the road. But the company had failed to do so. The court then directed it to deposit the toll collected in a nationalised bank. But instead, the company attempted arbitration and then challenged the order in the top court.
The top court appointed a panel of experts to study the road, which confirmed that the road was bad.
Today the court directed the Centre to repair the road, asking it to utilise Rs. 11 crore the company had deposited in the bank.
The top court also said there has to be a mechanism to prevent the damage of roads by overloaded trucks. "There has to be some deterrent to seize these vehicles and levy a heavy penalty," the court said.