The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Saturday decided to suspend the recent toll fee hike on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway indefinitely, after facing criticism from public and commuters. The Expressway was inaugurated two weeks ago.
The toll fee increase, which amounted to a 22% jump and was supposed to take effect from Saturday, had become a contentious issue in poll-bound Karnataka, especially since the ruling BJP party was attempting to gain support in the Old Mysuru region. NHAI officials too were under pressure from the people’s representatives and lawmakers to roll back the revision.
Pratap Simha, BJP MP from Mysuru, had a round of discussions with the NHAI chairperson, project director of the Expressway and chief engineer Vivek Jaiswal on withdrawal of the revision. Simha expressed his difficulty in accepting the toll fee hike, even though it was in accordance with NHAI’s annual rules, as minor works related to the highway and service roads are still under way at various points along the Expressway. BT Sridhar, who is the NHAI project director, confirmed that the decision to revise the toll charges has been put on hold.