Today, On 22nd September, The Kerala High Court has refused to lift the interim stay on toll collection at the Paliyekkara toll plaza on NH-544, noting poor road conditions and heavy traffic congestion as the main reasons behind continuing the restriction.
The Kerala High Court chose not to lift the interim stay it had placed on toll collection at the Paliyekkara toll plaza on National Highway-544, citing poor road conditions and traffic congestion.
A Division Bench comprising Justices A Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V Menon had indicated last week that it would issue an order today regarding the lifting of the earlier interim halt on toll collection.
However, the Bench opted to delay the decision after reports emerged about the collapse of a service road near Muringoor.
The Court directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to provide a report on the situation, after which it would decide on resuming toll collection at Paliyekkara.
The Court noted in its order,
“Today we proposed to pass an order after verifying the Committee’s report. It is now reported that at Muringoor, a service road collapsed which was tapped one week ago, and the Collector has confirmed the same. NHAI submits that the collapsed portion has been restored. The Court directs NHAI to submit a report, for the Committee to verify. Posted the matter to Thursday,”
Toll collection was suspended on August 6 following multiple petitions highlighting the poor road conditions and severe traffic congestion resulting from ongoing overbridge construction along various points of NH 544, specifically in the Edappally–Mannuthy stretch.
Earlier, On September 19, the Court had verbally indicated that it would permit the resumption of toll collection at Paliyekkara, subject to certain conditions. This statement came after reviewing a report from the Interim Traffic Management Committee regarding the efforts made by NHAI to improve traffic and road conditions on NH-544.
Thrissur District Collector Arjun Pandian, who chairs the committee, informed the Court last week that NHAI had largely addressed specific concerns raised by both the Court and the petitioners regarding the road and traffic at Paliyekkara.
However, the committee also emphasized that the pace of underpass construction remained significantly slow, and only a swift completion by NHAI would provide a lasting resolution to the congestion issue.
When the matter was discussed today, the Court decided to postpone its ruling on toll resumption until it reviews the situation concerning the recent road collapse.
Case Title: Shaji J Kodankadath v. Union of India and connected cases