Paliyekkara toll collection; HC postpones plea to Thursday without passing order

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has said that it will not issue an interim order today regarding the resumption of toll collection at Paliyekkara on the Edappally-Mannuthi National Highway. The plea will be considered again on Thursday. The high court had earlier said that some conditions will be imposed on the toll collection and based on this, permission can be given to collect toll from Monday. However, while considering the plea this morning, the high court asked about the collapse of the service road in the Muringoor area.

The court said that before resuming toll collection, the National Highway Authority (NHA) should inform the district collector about the status of the construction of the service road and based on this, the collector can submit a report to the high court and take a decision in this regard. A bench of Justices A Muhammad Mushtaq and Harishankar V Menon said that the order in this regard will be issued on Thursday. The court had temporarily stopped the toll collection at Paliyekkara a month ago due to severe traffic congestion.

Meantime, whether the renewed toll will be collected from now on will be known only after the high court's order. An increase of Rs 5 to 10 has been made for one-way travel. Cars going one way will now have to pay Rs 95 from Rs 90. The toll for more than one trip in a day will remain unchanged at Rs 140. The toll for small commercial vehicles will be Rs 165 from 160. For more than one trip, it will be Rs 245 instead of Rs 240. For buses and trucks, it will be Rs 330 from Rs 320 and for more than one trip, it will be Rs 495 instead of Rs 485. For multi-axle vehicles, it will be Rs 530 from Rs 515 for one way and Rs 795 instead of Rs 775 for more than one trip.