BJP MP Sangamlal Gupta tells The Deccan Era why he raised the issue of a toll plaza in his constituency during Zero Hour.
What did you raise in the House?
In the House, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, announced there wouldn’t be two toll plazas within 60 kilometers on the national highways. My constituency, Pratapgarh, is crossed by NH-330, which connects Ayodhya to Prayagraj. On this highway, there’s already a toll plaza. Kohandaur Bazar, just 35 km from there, is getting a new toll booth. In addition, there’s a toll booth on the Lucknow highway, just 30 km away from the proposed toll booth. As a result, I requested that the Minister cancel this toll booth right away. On a highway, there can’t be two toll plazas within 60 km.
Did you bring this up earlier with the minister?
Four or five months ago, I wrote Gadkari ji. It’s of public interest, so I raised it in Lok Sabha.
Could you tell me how you’d like to proceed?
This is something I’d consider bringing as a Private Member’s Bill.
Was your demand supported by other members?
The issue was raised in the House, and several members, including Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Keshari Devi Patel, said they also support it. There’s more to this than just my district. As many toll plazas have been built in violation of the (60km) rule in other parts of the country too, people are being hit with excessive tolls.
Can we have a short discussion about this?
I’ll do it.
