The Bombay High Court on Thursday said it could direct the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to look into alleged irregularities in toll collection on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and GS Kulkarni was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Praveen Wategaonkar and three others challenging the toll collection on the expressway. It was argued that toll collected from August 10, 2019 should be declared illegal and light motor vehicles should be exempted from paying toll till the matter is heard.
Mr. Wategaonkar said that the Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Tax Act stipulates a contract between the state government and any other institution, the construction, operation and transfer contract of a road project. Therefore, the state must first declare the total capital of the project, unless the fee and duration have to be announced.
He said that according to the affidavit of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), what exists is only a proposed agreement and there is no authorized document disclosing the capital outlay. As such there is no compliance with the law to collect tolls, he said. The bench questioned the MSRDC advocate on the cost of the project and whether anyone would believe that the recoverable project cost of ₹ 3,632 crore had not yet been recovered in 2004. The Court suggested that the CAG may audit the accounts and submit an affidavit on its findings in two weeks.
The Public Interest Litigation states, “The Motor Vehicles Tax Act allows the government to collect tolls only for recovery of capital costs and toll collection expenses. However, the actual cumulative toll revenue data for Mumbai-Pune Expressway as on 31 July 2019 is 31 6,773 crore, which is more than the ulative 4,330 crore spent by the state government. This strengthens the Comptroller and Auditor General’s assessment of irregularities in tendering. “
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