MMRDA proposes toll of Rs 175-790 on MTHL

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has proposed a toll of Rs 175-790 for various vehicles that will ply on the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL). The proposal was submitted before a high-powered committee that met in Mantralaya on Friday.

As part of the proposal, MMRDA has proposed to charge Rs 175 for cars, Rs 265 for light commercial vehicles, Rs 525 for trucks and buses and Rs 790 for heavy vehicles.

Chief Secretary Jayant Kumar Banthia, who headed the meeting, has asked the Urban Development Department to expedite the state support agreement and the notification regarding the toll for the Sewri-Nhava MTHL.

At the meeting, MMRDA officials laid out their toll charging plan. The proposal has been forwarded to the Urban Development Department, which has assured that it would issue a notification on the toll at the earliest. The notification will play its part in helping initiate the tendering process for India's longest sea link.

The high-powered committee meeting was attended by senior state government officials, MMRDA officials and stakeholders, such as Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO).

An MMRDA official said the JNPT had sought an increase in the height of the MTHL to 51 metres for a span of 300 metres to accommodate its expansion plans. The MTHL, otherwise, is to be built at a height of 25 metres.

"We have informed the JNPT authorities that it won't be possible to raise the height to 51 metres and we are willing to consider raising it, at the most, to 31-35 metres. They are going to get back to us regarding the same," the official added.

The 22-km bridge, of which 16.5 km will be built deep into the sea, is the country's longest sea bridge connecting Sewri to Nhava.

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