SC to hear plea on DND toll issue tomorrow

The Supreme Court will on Friday hear the plea filed by the Noida Toll Bridge Company seeking to set aside the Allahabad High Court's order to charge toll on the DND flyover.

The Allahabad High Court had earlier on Wednesday declared the Noida DND route as toll free.

The flyover connects Delhi on the west bank of the Yamuna with Noida and East Delhi.

A division bench comprising Justices Arun Tandon and Sunita Agarwal passed the order while allowing a public interest litigation filed by the Federation of Noida Residents' Welfare Association.

The PIL, which was filed in 2012, had challenged the "levy and collection of toll in the name of user fee by the Noida Toll Bridge Company".

Commuters travelling from Delhi to Noida and East Delhi have heaved a sigh of relief over not being told to pay Rs. 56 to and fro (Rs.28 each way) every day to facilitate a smooth entry and exit in the Delhi-NCR region.

The Allahabad High Court pronounced its order on a PIL filed by the Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Associations (FONRWA).

Earlier in August, the protesters had demanded that the Rs. 28 toll be scrapped, alleging that the the Noida Toll Bridge Company had already made profits but were still charging the public.

The expressway, which opened in 2001, considerably reduces the travel time between Delhi and Noida. Commuters, however, often face huge traffic jams.

An average of 1.5 lakh vehicles take the route daily.