Monday, August 01, 2016
By Kamal Swami
No Toll Tax for cars and small vehicles in Gujarat
It is reported that from August 15, 2016 owners of cars and small vehicles will not be required to pay toll tax for roaming across the Gujarat. This was announced by the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Honorable Anandiben Patel in her tweet on Saturday July 30, 2016. In the words of Chief Minister, “Happy to announce that from August 15, cars and small vehicles will be exempted from paying toll tax in Gujarat.”
The decision regarding exemption in toll tax was revealed by Honorable Chief Minister, during a plantation program organized in Nanapondha village of Valsad district on Saturday, addressing the program she said, “When our brothers, sisters from the middle class go out in their cars for work, they have to shell out Rs 100-150 at toll booths. We have decided to exempt them from paying toll tax…bigger vehicles will still have to pay it.”
It would be interested to know that demand regarding reduction in toll tax had been made by various political parties and organizations from quite some time. Interestingly the initiative of this exemption was grabbed by Aam Aadmi Party. Commenting on Gujarat state’s government decision Mr. Harshil Nayak, media co-coordinator of AAP said, that demand of exemption in toll tax was first made by his party.
According to him state government had permitted contractors to charge irregular toll tax from drivers on all roads including national highway, state highway, bridges and bypass roads. Mr. Nayak questioned that, “If the state government had decided to lift the toll tax now, what had prevented it to remove it earlier or impose it in the first instance”.
