MNS chief declares war on Maharashtra expressway toll plazas

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, Raj Thackeray, has asked people not to pay toll tax at the toll collecting points across Maharashtra. In an interaction with the media in Mumbai, he said the move had been warranted due to the state government's mismanagement of funds.

"I am not against toll collection. But a citizen who pays the toll should know where that money is going and for what purpose it is used," he said.

Within minutes, workers of the party were seen at various toll points in the state, exhorting people not to pay. The workers were also sent to toll booths to check how many vehicles passed from the toll road and how much money was collected.

This was being done to lay bare contractors' ploy of not giving the correct figure of the number of vehicles passing, with a view to get extended tenures for tax collection on grounds of low recoveries.

Additional police personnel have meanwhile, been deployed across the state. More than 10 activists were detained after they reached the Bandra-Worli Sea Link connecting suburban Bandra to Worli in south Mumbai.

According to Thackeray, the state government had not been able to give a satisfactory reply about where the toll money was going.