Mumbai: There is good news for thousands of beleaguered motorists who had to endure a nightmarish traffic snarl on the 95 km Mumbai-Pune Expressway earlier this month: they will be refunded toll charges.
Over one lakh motorists were caught in the massive traffic gridlock on February 3 after a gas tanker turned turtle on the Khopoli stretch of the Expressway, resulting in a 33-hour disruption with traffic being halted for several kilometres.
The administration had ordered an immediate suspension of toll collection following the unprecedented traffic disruption. However, toll taxes were already deducted from FASTag accounts of several motorists.
A Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) official said on Sunday that those who had toll charges deducted will get back the money, and the cumulative toll refund is valued at Rs 5.16 crore.
“It has been decided to refund the entire amount collected from vehicle owners even after the order to halt toll collection was issued. The refund of Rs 5.16 crore will be processed by MSRDC. The amount will be directly credited to FASTag accounts of affected vehicle owners in the next few days,” the official told PTI.
The refund will cover toll collected on both highways. The toll operator has been asked to furnish detailed FASTag transaction data.
“Some transactions may have been automatically processed before the toll plaza barriers were fully opened despite instructions to stop collection. All such transactions are being scrutinised and the amounts will be returned to the concerned motorists,” the official said.
Traffic on the busy expressway could only be restored in the early hours of February 5.
