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HC to hear Toll Issue case today

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">The Bombay high court will hear the case on toll collection in Kolhapur, with petitions filed by road construction company Ideal Road Builders and those filed by civic activists, on Monday.&nbsp;</span></span></span><span style="color:rgb(105, 105, 105); font-family:arial; font-size:11px; line-height:1.6em">The hearing is crucial in the backdrop of the violence that erupted in the city against toll collection earlier this month.</span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">In the last hearing on 08.01.2014, the bench of justice A S Oka and justice M H Sonak had directed the Maharashtra government to reply to objections raised by the counsel of the petitioners over the issue of Section 20 of the Motor Vehicles Act. The section states that the state government is entitled to levy toll on roads that are repaired or reconstructed completely.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">In September 2013, activist Kiran Pawar had approached the HC seeking stay on toll collection in Kolhapur. Following Pawar&#39;s petition, the IRB had filed a petition seeking police protection for the toll collection. In October 2013, two other activists, Sharad Mirashi and Subash Wani, also approached the HC seeking stay on the toll collection. The HC clubbed all the petitions together in November 2013 and started hearing the case.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:rgb(105, 105, 105); font-family:arial; font-size:11px; line-height:1.6em">Reports submitted by the IRB, the KMC and the four-member committee appointed by the state government present different views about the completion of the 49 Km road construction project in Kolhapur. While the IRB and the four-member committee state that 100% of the construction has been completed, the KMC has filed an affidavit stating that only 89% of the work was completed, as against the stipulated 95% mentioned in the agreement, required to start the toll collection.</span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Source-On Request</span></span></span></p>