Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray demanded that the Maharashtra government stop collecting tolls on the Eastern and Western Express highways in Mumbai, which have been handed over to the local civic council for maintenance.
He said if opposition parties form their government in Maharashtra after the 2024 assembly polls, they will shut down toll booths in Mumbai. Speaking to reporters at his residence Matoshree in suburban Bandra, he, however, made it clear his party will not set a deadline to the state government or launch an agitation for removal of toll booths from the two major arterial roads in the metropolis.
Western Express Highway (WEH) and Eastern Express Highway (EEH) have been handed over to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). But revenue generated from advertisement across these highways and toll collected at booths go to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
The challenge before Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is to shut down these toll plazas immediately. I also demand that revenue generated from advertisers (putting up hoardings) across these highways be given to the BMC, said the former environment minister. We are not issuing any deadline because days of this illegitimate government are numbered. If we hold street protests, the poor toll operators will suffer. I want the closure of toll booths on these highways and handing over of revenue collected through advertisements to the BMC, he said.