ISLAMABAD: Several months after its board decided to restore toll plazas at the entry points of the federal capital, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is still waiting for a green signal from the interior ministry to revive these booths to boost its coffers.

The decision to revive these toll plazas was taken in January and later April by the CDA board, which had decided to use money collected from these plazas to overhaul the roads in the federal capital. These toll booths were operational on Srinagar Highway, Islamabad Expressway and Karnal Sher Khan (then I.J.P Road) before they were shut down in 2013-14 by then interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

Earlier this year, the CDA board decided to revive the three toll plazas and establish two more on Pir Sohawa Road and Margalla Road. The idea to establish new toll booths, however, has been dropped for the time being, sources told Dawn.

On the other hand, it still requires permission from the interior ministry to revive the old toll booths as they had been shut down on the orders of the then-interior minister.

Plan to establish Pir Sohawa, Margalla Road booths dropped

“So, for the restoration of these toll plazas, we require permission from the interior ministry,” said an official, adding that a letter was written to the ministry in March followed by another letter a couple of weeks ago seeking its permission.

“We are waiting for a direction from the interior ministry. If approved, we will start collecting tolls at these booths, but if not then this idea will have to be dropped,” a CDA official added.

However, another official of the CDA said that toll collection is a common international and national practice, which was imperative to overhaul the roads in the capital.

He said that revenue generated by these toll plazas would be spent on overhauling key roads.

During the PML-N government, the CDA in 2013 stopped collecting tolls at the city’s entry points after the completion of their contracts. The contract for collecting tolls on Srinagar Highway and Karnal Sher Khan Road ended in 2013, and the contract for Islamabad Highway on January 17, 2014.

In 2019, the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) had approved the restoration of the said three toll plazas, but the plan could not materialise. The MCI officials were expecting Rs2 billion in annual revenue from these toll plazas. Before the formation of the MCI, the CDA used to regulate these toll plazas

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2024