The Kerala High Court has refused to vacate its earlier order suspending toll collection at the Paliyekkara toll plaza on NH 544, stressing that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) must first address the damaged road stretch before resuming collections.
During the latest hearing, the District Collector personally briefed the Court on traffic management along the Edappally–Mannuthy section, admitting that significant problems remained, particularly regarding road quality.
The toll collection was halted in August, when the Court issued a four-week suspension order after finding that the authorities had failed to mitigate severe congestion in the region. A Division Bench comprising Justice Muhammad Mustaque and Justice V Harishankar Menon had made it clear that commuters could not be burdened with tolls until infrastructure issues were resolved, remarking, “Toll can only be collected after resolving the traffic issues.”
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(More details awaited)
