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Manesar industries protest more than doubling of toll rates on NH 8

Updated: Mar 05, 2014 03:19:23pm
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Manesar, Mar 5 (KNN)  Industrial units here  will be strongly protesting  the toll rates by more than 100 per cent on the NH-8 connecting Manesar to Gurgaon as the highway authority took the decision following making the Delhi-Gurgaon border toll-free. The industry here describes it as a case of cross-subsidisation.

Manesar Industries Welfare Association (MIWA) said that the increase in toll rates from Rs 27 to Rs 56 is cross-subsidy putting the burden on the people commuting between Gurgaon and Manesar and working for the industries in the area, most of which belong to the MSME segment.

To deal with the issue, MIWA is in the process of forming a joint forum which will fight the increase in toll rates.  It has organised a joint meeting of all stakeholders to chalk out a plan and strategy, a press release said. 

“NH -8 is the only road that connects IMT Manesar to Gurgaon and it is the right of each and every allottee who has invested in setting up industry here to have an acceptable road to the industrial township and to have access to his work place,” MIWA said.

The increase in toll rates (from Rs 27 to Rs 56) is without reason and indirect Cross-Subsidy demanding from MSME segment, which actually needs support from Government to survive, it added.

Expressing his annoyance with the matter, General Secretary of MIWA, Manmohan Gaind, said, “We, the industrialists have through our sweat and toil played a pivotal role in giving Haryana the current status of a front runner state of the nation.  But the incumbent Haryana government and policy of highway authority is bent on ruining growth of the industry.”

“We are already facing the problem of staff and this increase in toll rates would further compel employees to stay in that part of the city and the industry would collapse,” he added.

On the other hand, an entrepreneur of IMT Manesar, Gurmit Kaur asked, “Tell me how we will run our business in the absence of manpower?”  She as many others, have been worried over the last week about how they were going to survive.  “We can very well sense the problem approaching,” she said.

 “If the government does not want the industry, it should make that clear, rather than making policies to harass us unnecessarily,” she added annoyingly.

“The basic principle of collecting toll is based on providing hassle free connectivity. However, the ‘only ‘road has been under construction for the last five years,” MIWA said.

The area is plagued by traffic being stuck at all times of the day resulting in inconvenience and wastage of time and fuel.   MIWA feels that the industry should be compensated for loss of fuel and time rather than asking for toll.   (KNN/SD)

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