A visit to Old Airport Road showed that the KRDCL is currently repairing the footpath as per the new design. Some of the works proposed on this stretch include: a cycle track, filling up potholes, repairing the median, drainage cleaning, creating uniform carriageway for the vehicles and greening the edges of the footpath.
According to sources an eight to 12 per cent increase in costs is abnormal. “The government must negotiate with the firms. An increase by one per cent is normal. There’s a chance that the firms fixed the price per package, among each other,” a source said.
The tender is for up-gradation and synchronisation of 184 of existing traffic signal system to adaptive traffic control system and providing, commissioning and synchronisation of new system at 32 locations with maintenance period of seven years.
Most of the municipal corporations are yet to go for the uniform mode of entry tax collection through FASTag. In the case of Delhi, the municipal corporation has issued a separate RFID tag for commercial vehicles.
According to official data, currently there are about 670 toll plazas on the entire NH network. “Transaction through FASTag is happening at all NH toll plazas. The share of toll payment transactions done through the FASTag has touched almost 85%,” said an NHAI official.
So far as the tolled roads under the state government are concerned all 19 toll plazas under the Hyderabad Growth Corridor Ltd, 18 on the roads under Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, 17 plazas each under MP Road Development Corporation and UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority allow paying user fee through FASTag.
Similarly, 13 stretches in Gujarat, 15 under the Karnataka Road Development Corporation and 10 under the TN Road Development Company also allows toll charge payment through FASTag.