Its publicity materials and even the website of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) -- the government enterprise at the helm of the construction of the 55 flyovers -- scream: ``In Mumbai city there is an urgent need to cater for the traffic, specially quick entry and exit from the city... The flyovers are planned with a corridor development approach. This fast corridor will make it possible to move from Thane, Vashi or Borivli (must have been an oversight and must have meant Mira-Bhayander) and reach South Mumbai faster.'' What generosity shown towards the cities on the outskirts of the city of gold!

To say the least, the very approach to the recovery of construction and maintenance cost of the flyovers has beenskewed right from the beginning. Little or no thought seems to have been given to imposing a toll or a viable alternative and, going by a recent newspaper report, the decision to impose a toll has been taken rather hurriedly by the Public Works Ministry. Per se, I have no objection to being charged levies towards infrastructure development. But I do not like the discrimination where there will be no levy on Mumbai vehicle owners, unless they move out of the city. In contrast, if I am going from Thane to Mulund without taking off on a single flyover, I still cough up Rs 40.

In all fairness, there should have been a cess on petrol and diesel filled in Mumbai and Thane districts, thereby ensuring all vehicle owners (except public transport), who directly or indirectly benefit from the construction of the flyovers, pay towards them. Another aspect where the government has made a mistake -- which I feel is graver than the imposition of a toll itself and should be tackled immediately is toll collection fromtaxis and intra-city BEST buses.

The basic aim of a traffic management scheme (for the uninitiated, the project is nomenclatured the Mumbai Traffic Improvement Mega-Project) like this should be to encourage use of public transport and not private vehicles. (In fact, I would go ahead and not charge toll on cargo vehicles, which are already burdened by various taxes, octroi and a prolonging recessionary market. Probably, trucks and tempos can be prohibited from using most of the flyovers, except in unavoidable circumstances). Charging of a toll, and that too at a steeper rate, from taxis and buses is nonsensical, to put it mildly. It does not speak highly of the planners who plunged headlong into preparing the blueprint for 55 flyovers, when the need of the hour was probably the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-II) which laid emphasis on augmenting a mass transport like the railways. But that is another story altogether.

Imposition of a toll vis-a-vis a cess has been under discussion in the top echelonsof the government of India for some time, and hence it is all the more surprising that the state government did not consider any alternative to toll. In an essay in ``India's Economic Reforms and Development,'' the former Union finance secretary Montek Singh Ahluwalia observes: ``The established practice of not charging for the use of public roads creates consumer resistance to paying tolls.'' One of Ahluwalia's suggestions is: ``A cess on petrol and diesel earmarked to fund road development in both the central and state sectors. A cess of 50 paise on both petrol and diesel would yield Rs 3,000 crore per year for road development.'' Ahluwalia's estimates are naturally nationwide but even if one assumes a fraction of this (could be anywhere between 8 to 10 per cent) being generated in Mumbai and Thane, the revenue from cess would add up to much more than the estimated toll collection. The revenue generated could easily pay for servicing the bonds floated by the MSRDC to finance its Rs 1550 crore-dream project,if nothing else.

All in all, a non-discriminatory levy would bridge the gap - not physical - between Mumbaiites and ``the outside world.'' Or is it too much to expect down-to-earth decisions from the state?

(B Mahesh is a former journalist and a harried commuter)Dream sours over flyovers

When I first heard about the flyover project, I dreamt of travelling from the suburbs to the south within 40 to 45 minutes. I wished my dream came true. Now I am not sure. Rather the flyovers have become more a menace than convenience.

Firstly, thought should have been given to widening of existing roads. For example, the road from Kashi-Mira or Thane (the two gateways of Mumbai) there is ample space on the sides. Slumdwellers could be rehabilitated at the cost spent on a few flyovers.

The railway is the cheapest and fastest mode of transport any where in the world. If the state government had provided any of the alternatives by which one could travel faster to Mumbai without one's vehicle any amountof fare would be tolerated.

Let us consider eastern side i.e. Dadar to Mulund. On a scale of 1 to 4 for vehicular density we can position the four points as follows: Sion: 4, Dadar: 3, Kurla: 2 and Pestom Sagar, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli-Jogeshwari link road: 1.

In the last category comes the Ghatkopar Depot. Time required to stop at this junction is not more than one minute. Was it necessary to have a flyover at this junction? However, the state has provided for unnecessary flyovers at all such points. I feel flyovers are of no use if drivers in the city remained indisciplined. To cover 18 kms from Chembur to Thane where all the flyovers are ready, it took me 30 minutes. The culprits include car users who behave like they are on a pleasure trip; autorickshaw drivers who speed at not less than 20 kmph; not excluding the bullock carts and bicycles which adversely affects the traffic flow and need a separate lane.

It seems that the toll also has been imposed without giving consideration to many factors likeprice escalation on essential commodities and water sourced from many small towns and villages on the periphery of Mumbai. are thousands of small towns and villages. Toll collection will affect supply from these points. For example: The water tanker association hiked its price by Rs 100 the day toll collection started the impact of which was immediately felt by residents of Mira-Bhayander and neighbouring villages.

Moreover, the toll is not imposed on the actual user of the flyovers i.e. Mumbaiites. It is imposed on commuters, truckers and other vehicle users coming from outside Mumbai. Ultimately the sufferers are those who are staying away from the metropolis. Hence I fill flyovers were not necessary.
(Ravindra Raghuwanshi is convenor of the Toll Hatao Samiti)