The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that no toll will be collected on the Delhi-Noida-Direct flyway till further orders. The Bench of Justices AR Dave, RK Agrawal and AM Khanwilkar upheld the Allahabad High Court’s order scrapping the toll, added that either the comptroller and auditor general of India or an independent auditor will examine the accounts of the Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited to ascertain whether the profit recovered via toll collection was adequate.
The top court will pass an order regarding the audit on November 7. There will be no toll for those using the express way until the audit report is submitted. The company’s counsel, however, argued that the toll was needed to maintain the “excellent highway,” reported NDTV. To this, Chief Justice of India TS Thakur said, "You made a road for 10 km but you are talking as if you had made a road to moon!"
The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday had decided to make the DND flyway toll-free. The court was hearing a plea filed by the Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Associations. The Noida toll bridge company had challenged the order in the apex court.
The court’s verdict came two months after residents held protests against the toll for using the 8-lane, 9.2-km long DND expressway. Protesters had alleged corruption in the project and said the builders had already made profits from the project, and hence the Rs 28 toll should be scrapped.
The expressway started operating in 2001. The road connects Delhi on the west bank of the Yamuna with Noida and East Delhi.
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