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• The Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to examine and report whether the toll fixed on Mannuthy—Edappally stretch of NH-47 was reasonable.The court passed the order while a batch of petitions against the toll collection came up for hearing. It also ordered notices to state government and the NHAI.The court also considered a petition seeking a CBI probe into alleged corruption in connection with the award of tender for the widening of the National Highway from Mannuthy to Angamaly but refused to issue notices to CBI stating that there was no need of it.
• The petitioners pointed out that the private company was collecting exorbitant amount as toll fee. According to the petitioners, only the NH stretch from Angamaly to Mannuthy was widened but the company was collecting toll for the whole stretch of Edapally to Mannuthy.The petitioners, Joy Kaitharath and V.R. Suresh of Thrissur, submitted that the tender was awarded to Guruvayur Infrastructure (P) Ltd which had not even taken part in the tender process.The company did the work only on the 40-km long Mannuthy-Angamaly stretch and so it has no authority to collect toll for the 25.6 km from Angamaly to Edappally, the petitions said.Meanwhile, the action council against toll decided to intensify the agitation in view of the government’s decision to resume toll collection at Palliakara toll booth and its refusal to agree to toll-free service roads. The action council burnt an effigy of the CM alleging that he went back on the promise.

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