Opinion | Mulund & Dahisar Tolls Must Be Scrapped, Mumbaikars Paying Twice, Writes Aaditya Thackeray

I have put forward a perspective on the Mulund and Dahisar toll nakas to shut down immediately, on a purely economic basis. Let me reiterate it for you here.

The Western and Eastern Express Highways have traditionally been maintained by the state government largely through the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Limited (MSRDC), with PWD in parts. The MMRDA was the main planning authority.

Each time a proposal was made for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to adopt these roads, it was rejected purely since the state wasn’t willing to let go of the revenue from the advertisement hoardings and toll tax.

This meant taking over additional responsibility of almost 40 km of roads and bridges, without additional sources of revenue.

One wonders what wisdom dawned on the current Municipal Commissioner, who is also the administrator for over a year, in the absence of elected corporators, to suddenly decide, or rather forced, to accept the responsibility of these highways, quite stunningly without the revenue source.

The issue isn’t only about the BMC, its responsibility and expense; the question is rather deep about the added expense on the pockets of Mumbaikars, twice.

To put it in perspective, if the BMC is paying for the upkeep of these highways additionally now, this money is coming from the taxes you and I pay to the BMC. It may come through the street tax, or other direct and indirect taxes we pay to the BMC.

Additionally, while we pay for these roads through the BMC taxes, we are also still being forced to pay toll to the MSRDC. This toll was originally meant for the upkeep of the Western and Eastern Express Highways, since the MSRDC did not have a direct source of revenue like the BMC or any other local self-government. However, now that the BMC will spend for the upkeep, what business does MSRDC have to charge us toll tax?

The MSRDC is now charging toll arbitrarily, unfairly, and unnecessarily since now it isn’t even responsible for the Western and Eastern Express Highways expenses for its maintenance.

The general perspective is it is okay to keep charging and looting Mumbai since we are probably one of the highest contributors to national and state revenues anyway. They want to loot our city, finish its institutions, and self-dependence.

Furthermore, it is only fair that the agency (herein, the BMC) gets the revenue from the hoardings that dot the Western and Eastern Express Highways. However, this too, goes to the MSRDC.

Once again, what business does the MSRDC have in Mumbai, on roads it has nothing to do with? Every day, lakhs of Mumbaikars, and those from Mumbai Metropolitan Region, who come into Mumbai and go back home from work, are charged the toll tax. Those from Mumbai using these roads are charged twice.

When I raised this issue, which is purely based on the principles of taxation, and not on the question of whether tolls should exist, I faced a barrage of criticism from those in the government. It may be because of the contractor interests that get damaged in this.

However, my points are simple:

1. Why charge Mumbaikars twice for a terribly maintained road?
2. Why does MSRDC not transfer advertisement revenues to the BMC?

The Dahisar and Mulund tolls must be scrapped and removed. The current government may not have the will to do it, since its own friends depend on it, but now that the chaos of double taxation has been made, and roads have been unwisely handed over, it is our word, that the government that will be formed next, by us, we will scrap these tolls right away.

Aditya Thackeray is Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Maharashtra MLA. He served as the state’s environment minister from December 2019 to June 2022. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.