Toll predicament on cards for Malayalees; More than 50 roads included in KIIFB-funded list

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Pinarayi government in Kerala is all set to collect user fees on roads funded by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). If implemented, people travelling by vehicle will have to pay tolls on more than 50 roads between Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram.

When the construction of the national highway is completed, the toll plazas will be raised by the National Highways Authority. With this, people commuting on state roads will have a tough time wriggling past toll after toll.

Tunnels, bypasses and coastal roads will come under toll service. The Public Works Department is implementing 511 projects in the state through KIIFB Fund. The total construction cost is over 32,000 crores. A good portion of the amount spent on various projects is intended to be recovered through the introduction of tolls.

Thiruvananthapuram Karamana-Kaliyikavilai Road, Vazhyila Four Lane Road, Vattiyoorkavu Junction Development, Kottarakkara Bypass, Kuttikkanam-Chappathu Hill Highway, Angamali Kochi Airport Bypass, Muvattupuzha Perumbavoor Bypass, Aluva-Munnar Road, Kannur Airport Connecting Roads, Wayanad tunnel, other hilly and coastal roads, will be included in the list of toll collection.

Meanwhile, no final decision has been taken on this matter. If implemented, it will be straight in contrast to the earlier CPM proposed model. CPM was against tolls when the national highway construction started in Kerala. The party also organized anti-toll protests in Maharashtra.

G Sudhakaran, former Minister of Public Works in the first Pinarayi government, had once vowed not to collect tolls on the roads constructed by the state government. On June 14, 2019, in the Legislative Assembly, Finance Minister Thomas Isaac replied that there was no plan to collect user fees or tolls to generate revenue from projects implemented by KIIFB.