CJI BR Gavai: Why is toll being collected despite the road being in bad condition? CJI reprimands NHAI

CJI BR Gavai: Waterlogging on roads and hours-long traffic jams after rain in Delhi is nothing new. Every monsoon, the country's capital becomes chaotic. Roads get flooded, traffic stops, and people get stuck in traffic jams for hours and are troubled. This time the Supreme Court has also expressed concern on this issue. Chief Justice (CJI) BR Gavai questioned the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) that when the condition of roads is bad and the services are not up to the expected level, why is toll tax being collected?

Supreme Court's comment

While hearing a case related to NHAI, CJI BR Gavai said, "You take toll from people, but do not provide services." Expressing concern over the deteriorating situation after rain in Delhi, he said, "Two hours of rain in the country's capital brings the entire city to a standstill. The situation becomes even worse during monsoon in coastal areas." The court assured to consider the matter and reserved the order.

In the last hearing, the Supreme Court had also reprimanded NHAI for collecting toll before the completion of road construction. The court clarified that when the condition of the road is poor and the construction work is incomplete, it is not appropriate to collect toll.

Kerala High Court's decision

At the root of this matter is a decision of the Kerala High Court, which ordered the suspension of toll collection on the Edappally-Mannuthy road for four weeks. The High Court took this decision because the route was not maintained properly and due to delay in construction work, there was a problem of heavy traffic jams. Due to this, passengers were facing a lot of inconvenience.

Delhi's problem: waterlogging and chaos

The problem of waterlogging after rain in Delhi has been going on for many years. Due to poor drainage system and inadequate maintenance of roads, water accumulates on the roads. This not only affects traffic, but also disrupts the daily life of the people. The Supreme Court's remarks indicate that there is a need to improve infrastructure and services.