Toll collection at Delhi-Gurgaon halted for 15 days

In what would be a welcome development for Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway communters the Punjab and Haryana High Court has restrained Delhi Gurgaon Super Connectivity Limited (DGSCL), the concessionaire of the Delhi-Gurgaon toll plaza, from collecting any fee at the barrier for 15 days.

The order went into effect from midnight last night. The order was issued by the division bench comprising acting chief justice Jasbir Singh and justice Rakesh Kumar Jain.

The court observed that the toll barrier was designed to save both fuel and time, though neither fuel nor time was being saved with long queues of vehicles on either side of the road waiting to pay the toll.

The order came after the court observed that DGSCL had failed to avert traffic snarls at the plaza and ensure the smooth flow of traffic on the expressway. The court observed motorists were being made to suffer since NHAI, state authorities and the concessionaire seemed to have no desire to put an end to the problem.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) was also directed by the court to hold a meeting of the state authorities and DGSCL representatives and come out with a concrete and lasting solution to the traffic chaos being experienced by commuters every day.

The court issued the directions following the submission of the Gurgaon traffic police  before the High Court that held DGSCL responsible for the mess. The snarls at the expressway were due to mismanagement and shortage of staff to deal with traffic, the police said.