The Eknath Shinde committee, constituted by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, will review the "exact" expenditure incurred by IRB Infrastructure, which manages toll booths in Kolhapur, for the Kolhapur Integrated Road Development Project and the quality of work done by it.
The committee was formed on December 24 last year to suggest ways to compensate IRB Infrastructure if government decides to scrap their toll booths as has been demanded by people, and to submit its report within a month.
The panel headed by PWD Minister Eknath Shinde met for the first time today since its formation, but could not come up with any concrete solution to the vexed issue.
"In the course of our meeting today, we decided that we will be reviewing the expenditure incurred by Ideal Road Builders (IRB) for the Kolhapur Integrated Road Development Project and come up with a solution accordingly in the next one month. Our aim is to ensure that commuters are not troubled while we stay within the ambit of law," Shinde told reporters here.
He said the panel will focus on reviewing the road developed by IRB, the quality of work done and the exact amount of money spent by the company for the development work, in the next one month.
"Once we are done with our review work, we will hold a meeting once again and decide our future course of action. The government is very serious on providing relief to the people of Kolhapur. This committee will work towards this, while at the same time we also respect the court's order," Shinde said.
IRB had won the contract to develop 50-km of road in and around Kolhapur in 2007 under the Integrated Road Development Project. However, it could start work only in 2009 due to issues like delays in land acquisition, environmental clearance among others.
The project was completed in December 2011.
Residents of the west Maharashtra town have been agitating against the toll collection at the IRB booths on nine roads for the last four years.
In a violent agitation held in January last year, four toll booths were vandalised by suspected Shiv Sena activists.
