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Cars entering Mumbai will no longer need to pay any toll, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced today. The move, which comes into effect from midnight tonight, instantly sparked an outcry from the opposition, which called the toll waiver an election sop that would add to the traffic nightmare in India's financial capital.
Eknath Shinde said all light motor vehicles would be exempt from any toll tax at the five toll booths for entry into Mumbai. The move, weeks before the Maharashtra election, was announced at the cabinet meeting of the state government in Mumbai.
"This move will save commuters' time, and reduce pollution and traffic. This is a historic decision," Mr Shinde told reporters.
Maharashtra minister Dadaji Dagadu Bhuse said that light vehicles would enter freely from the tolls at Dahisar, Anand Nagar, Vaishali, Airoli and Mulund, which were commissioned in 2002.
"Rs 45 to Rs 75 were charged at these tolls and it was in effect till 2026. About 3.5 lakh vehicles, including 2.80 lakh light vehicles, used to travel up and down from these toll plazas," he said.
"The time that people used to spend in queues will be saved. The government was discussing it for many months and today this revolutionary decision has been taken," Mr Bhuse told reporters.
Speaking to NDTV, Naresh Mhaske, the Shiv Sena MP from Thane, said this was a "long pending" demand.
"Mumbaikars are happy after this decision. I come from Thane district and I felt sad every time I paid toll charges. Now, with free movement, there will be more development in nearby areas," he said.
The Opposition, however, said the decision was taken when elections were approaching.
"You could have stopped the toll earlier but you did not do it," Anand Dubey, the spokesperson of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), said.
He also questioned why heavy vehicles would continue to pay tolls when they have already paid the charges for several years.
"The public will teach you a lesson in the elections," Mr Dubey said.
In Maharashtra, mainly in Mumbai, many activists were agitating for the waiver of tolls.
