Union Minister and NHAI at cross-roads on Sarore Toll Plaza issue: Rattan Lal

Asks Gadkari to immediately clear chaos and confusion 

JAMMU, AUG 24: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) Provincial President Jammu, Rattan Lal Gupta while condemning the brutalities against the youth staging a peaceful protest demanding removal of toll collection at Sarore Toll Post and asking  the Govt to immediately release the detained protestors. He vehemently tore into the BJP Govt at the Centre saying that what could be more mocking than the fact that the Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are at cross-roads with each other. 

In a statement issued to media here today, Rattan Lal said that the Union Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari announced on the floor of the Parliament that a minimum distance between two toll plazas should not less than 60 kilometers while the Regional Officer of NHAI quoted entirely contradictory provisions of the rules in this regard defending the presence of two toll points at Sarore and Ban. He quoted Nitin Gadkari while replying to a question in the Parliament on 06-02-2020 as per Rule 8(2) of the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008 – “Any other fee plaza on same section of national highway and in the same direction shall not be established within a distance of sixty kilometers. 

He said that in such a situation the Regional Officer of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) J&K P Siva Shanker ruling out scope for any concession in toll to the people is highly condemnable. He lamented that either the Union Minister is unaware about the law, rules and regulations on the issue or else the NHAI authorities are misleading the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

          The senior NC leader said that NHAI has been given National Highway-44 from Lakhanpur to Kashmir and the distance between stretch of this highway from Sarore to Ban is nearly 45 km. But unfortunately, the NHAI not considering the stretch of Sarore to Ban on the same section of NH-44 which is quite unjustified, he added.

Rattan Lal said that even the Lt Governor Manoj Sinha led Administration has totally failed to address the miseries of the people on this count as a result of which whole Jammu region is on roads to get the genuine and justified demand fulfilled. He appealed to the Union Minister Gadkari to clarify the chaos and confusion created by the department headed by him as the Union Minister and ensure that people of Jammu heave a sigh of relief. Mr Gupta said to the LG administration to release all the protesters immediately without any further delay.

(NOTE: PRESS RELEASE PUBLISHED AS RECEIVED)