The Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced a complete toll waiver for light motor vehicles entering Mumbai at all five booths. The announcement comes months before Assembly polls in the state. The waiver will come into effect from October 14 midnight.
Commuters will be able to travel without paying tolls at the five booths - Dahisar, LBS Road-Mulund, Eastern Express Highway-Mulund, Airoli Creek Bridge and Vashi. Light motor vehicles include cars (hatchbacks, sedans and SUVs), jeeps, vans, auto-rickshaws, taxis, delivery vans and small trucks. The toll waiver is expected to bring relief to people travelling in and out of Mumbai ahead of Diwali.
“There was a demand for the toll waiver due to the traffic jams at the toll booths,” CM Shinde told reporters after the state cabinet approved the toll waiver decision at a meeting held in Mumbai Monday morning.
More than six lakh vehicles cross Mumbai daily, of which 80 per cent are light motor vehicles, the official said. The toll waiver move would save time, fuel and reduce pollution, Shinde said.
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The toll waiver is among the more than 150 decisions taken in a spate of state cabinet meetings over the past fortnight, an official in the Chief Minister's Office said. The state cabinet on Monday also approved a proposal to name Maharashtra State Skills University after the late Ratan Tata.
(With inputs from PTI)
