SHILLONG, March 19: The KHADC has not yet replied to the state government on the steps taken to shut down the illegal toll gates along the national highways, state highways and major district roads.
A senior official on Sunday said the government is awaiting a reply to the letter it had written to the secretary of the KHADC Executive Committee on January 18.
“We had written to the KHADC after the deputy commissioners brought to the notice of the District Council Affairs (DCA) Department about the illegal toll gates of the council,” he said.
According to the official, the deputy commissioners had received complaints from several organisations and concerned stakeholders about these illegal toll gates.
The DCA secretary, A. Nikhla on January 18 wrote to the secretary of the KHADC Executive Committee regarding the re-opening of the check gates within the territory of the council.
Nikhla pointed out that the installation of toll gates on the national highways, state highways and major district roads requires NOC from the designated authority in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the state government respectively.
She said the requirement should be followed particularly in view of the pending cases – Arsteplang Kharbhih versus the state of Meghalaya and the JHADC versus the state of Meghalaya – before the high court on the collection of tolls.
On March 17, the East Khasi Hills unit of the HNYF gave the KHADC a week’s deadline to close down 18 toll gates it was operating illegally.
The unit’s president, Bless Dkhar told reporters that the KHADC has been operating these toll gates without obtaining the necessary NOC from the National Highway Authority of India and the state government.
He accused the council of operating these toll gates despite two pending litigations in the High Court of Meghalaya on the collection of tolls.
“We will be writing to the chief secretary and the deputy commissioners for the closure of these 18 tolls if the KHADC fails to comply with our one-week deadline. We will close down these toll gates on our own if the authorities fail to take action,” Dkhar said.
In June 2022, the state government directed the KHADC and the JHADC to immediately shut down all the toll gates set up by them on the national highways and state roads.
This decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma with the representatives of the two councils in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong.
