Kerala High Court says will allow resumption of toll at Paliyekkara subject to conditions

The Kerala High Court on Friday said that it would soon lift the stay it had imposed on the collection of toll at the Paliyekkara toll plaza along National Highway-544 [Shaji J Kodankadath v. Union of India and connected cases]..Toll collection at Paliyekkara has been under suspension since August 6 due to the poor road conditions and traffic congestion as a consequence of overbridge constructions at various places along NH 544, a key road connecting Kerala to the rest of the country.A Division Bench of Justices A Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V Menon today said it would allow resumption of toll collection at Paliyekkara but made it clear that it would impose certain conditions while lifting its earlier order suspending toll collection. The Bench said the suspension will be revoked starting Monday, September 22. It will also pass orders in this regard on Monday."Let the suspension be revoked. We will not close the matter; let day-to-day periodic checks be done on the road. We will lift the suspension from Monday because we want to add some conditions. Monday we will pass orders," Justice Mustaque stated orally. .The Bench made the decision after reviewing a report submitted by the Interim Traffic Management Committee on the work undertaken by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to address the traffic issues..The Court was hearing petitions challenging toll collection at Paliyekkara on the NH-544 due to poor road conditions and the resulting traffic congestion. One traffic block was reported to have lasted over 12 hours.Following the High Court's order dated August 6 suspending toll collection, the NHAI had also approached the Supreme Court in appeal, but the top court dismissed the same, asking Kerala High Court to continue monitoring the situation closely.On August 21, the Division Bench ordered the constitution of an Interim Traffic Management Committee to monitor traffic conditions in the area.The committee consisting of the District Collector, Superintendent of Police and Regional Transport Officer was tasked with inspecting congested areas and submitting recommendations.The Interim Traffic Management Committee, chaired by Thrissur District Collector Arjun Pandian, submitted a report dated September 16, stating that it had examined compliance on specific points flagged by the Court, as well as the issues raised by the petitioner and found that the works had been satisfactorily completed.Reports from District Police Chief, Regional Transport Officer and National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) confirmed that potholes at the Perambra Eastern Service Road had been repaired, service road junctions had been levelled and tarred.The Committee, after consulting NATPAC and the PWD, noted that while the Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM) standard adopted by NHAI was satisfactory, periodic overlays and routine inspections were essentialThe report, however, stressed that overall progress on underpass construction remained considerably slow and that only after completion can there be a proper solution to the traffic congestion..Can't force citizens to pay toll in addition to vehicle tax for pothole-ridden roads: Supreme Court