Nagpur: Road users from the city and going toward Jam-Chandrapur-Hyderabad are being forced to pay toll tax for the stretch they never travelled on. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been recovering toll tax for the last six years for construction of Outer Ring Road.Now, the NHAI has also approved the contractor’s proposal to increase the toll by 20% with effect from August 15. Accordingly, the road users will have to shell out more for the works executed between Mansar and Khawasa on Jabalpur national highway that is situated diagonally opposite where the toll is being charged.Interestingly, commuters from Mansar, Ramtek, Bhandara and Gondia, who actually use the stretch and head towards Jabalpur and vice versa, have been “spared” and do not have to pay any toll.The NHAI has approved the proposal of Oriental Nagpur Bye-Pass Construction Private Ltd for increasing toll tax at two plazas — Mansar on Jabalpur road and Borkhedi on Chandrapur-Hyderabad road by 20% on August 13. Accordingly, the company has implemented the revised toll tax from August 15.NHAI official told TOI that toll tax was increased for widening of 33km road between Mansar and Khawasa at a cost of Rs330 crore. “Work for building four flyovers with a length of 4km between Mansar and Khawasa is going on and is likely to be completed by November. The toll at the two plazas will be increased to some extent after completion of the flyovers,” he said.The mess is the result of NHAI’s package comprising widening of stretch between Mansar and Khawasa and construction of Outer Ring Road — Nagpur, Kamptee, Kanhan byepass from Jamtha on Wardha road to Mansar. The estimated length of the package was 117km and cost Rs1,170 crore. The package’s work order was issued to Oriental on October 5, 2009.As per NHAI sources, earlier private companies did not participate in the tender as toll plazas were proposed on the Outer Ring Road and at Mansar. Later, the NHAI proposed to start a toll plaza at Dongargaon between Jamtha and Butibori to take benefit of the huge traffic. It was included by adding maintenance of stretch between Outer Ring Road from Jamtha junction to Dongargaon. The tender received response and package materialized.However, due to litigations, the toll plaza was shifted from Dongargaon to Borkhedi on Jam-Chandrapur-Hyderabad road and later road maintenance work up to Borkhedi was added in the package.In link with Borkhedi plaza, the NHAI started another plaza on Outer Ring Road for vehicles coming from Hingna-Amravati road. Two plazas were set up at Kanhan and Mansar and the two were interlinked.It was assumed by the people that toll plaza at Borkhedi was for four-laning of the national highway between Nagpur and Hyderabad that was done some years before the package. It is now clear from the NHAI’s circular issued for increase in toll tax.The toll plaza at Mansar is situated well before the town and the road widening has been done from the town to Khawasa. Road to Ramtek, Bhandara and Gondia begins from Mansar well before the toll plaza adding to the mess. Due to this, people going from the city up to Mansar or Ramtek through Kamptee and vice versa will have to pay for new works. Similarly, the people from Amravati, city and Wardha road and going towards Umrer, Bhandara road and up to Kamptee will also have to pay for the new works.The toll plazas for the package will continue to operate till April 2, 2037.

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