Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari tears into entry fee collection points on Delhi borders

NEW DELHI: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and Lt Governor V K Saxena on Wednesday said there was a need for getting rid of physical entry fee collection points on the city's borders, agreeing to Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari's strong push for the removal of these booths, which he called a "nuisance" for commuters.TOI has learnt both Gupta and Saxena agreed to the suggestion of exploring new sources of revenue for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which annually generates about Rs 800- 900 cr from entry fee, in a meeting with the minister. Gadkari said the fee collection booths installed on main carriageways cause huge "harassment" to commuters and losses due to waste of man-hours and congestion. "The minister suggested that the Delhi govt find new sources for revenue, including from property development or minor additional charge on vehicles. He said the collection of entry fee and green cess are nothing less than public loot while highlighting the huge investment made in highway development," a source said.When Gadkari said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will approach the Supreme Court to seek a stop on collection of Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) or green cess, Saxena responded by saying the issue can be resolved without going to court and a way will be found out soon, sources said. MCD officials, present in the meeting, maintained that the revenue foregone would have a huge impact on the civic body's annual budget, which is around Rs 5,000 crore.Delhi PWD minister Parvesh Verma, environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and MoS (road transport) Harsh Malhotra also attended the meeting where all ongoing NH projects were reviewed. Last week, top officials from both the Delhi govt and the MCD had agreed to have Multi-Lane Free Flow toll and entry fee collection system to do away with physical booths.