Complaints of commuters being fleeced in the name of toll tax have widely surfaced in Ganderbal and north Kashmir’s Bandipora, with private vehicle owners, mostly from outside of Jammu and Kashmir, being charged at toll posts.
The commuters and the locals say the practice has been happening for over a month with no action in sight. Scores of visitors from outside of the valley entering Bandipora or Gurez say that they are being charged Rs 70 to Rs 100, mostly at the Sumbal toll post in Bandipora and in Ganderbal for entering the municipal jurisdictions.
“Although we tried to argue with the contractors, they resort to hooliganism and say the tax is necessary,” the commuters said. They said the men there claim that the tax is being charged by the Municipal Committee Sumbal, as seen on the receipts. Notably, there has been an increased rush of tourists who mostly visit Bandipora in their private cars, especially to visit Gurez. “Upon refusing to pay the toll, the men stationed at the toll posts collecting the tax threaten to block our movement; some even behave rudely and say the tax is necessary,” another commuter on their way to Gurez said.
Moreover, local commercial vehicle owners, like passenger vehicles, trucks, etc. also complain that they are being charged on every visit in a day, when it should be just once. “We have received several such reports for a few days,” Director of Urban Local Bodies (ULB) Kashmir, Qazi Sarwar, told Greater Kashmir.
He said the contract has been outsourced to some agency for a year or two and that he will seek further clarification from the Executive Officer of the Municipal Committee Bandipora.
Sarwar agreed that the agency had been charging the toll tax to private vehicle owners, as per the complaints received by them.
“We have called the contractors and we are fining them,” the officer added. When asked if this was legal, the officer clearly declared, “No, no, no. They cannot charge private vehicles, only commercial vehicles. Yes, this is illegal, and we have issued notices from the concerned EO municipal committees.”
The officer said, “These complaints mainly poured in from Ganderbal and Sumbal. We have plugged the issue now.”
Meanwhile, EO, Aijaz Ahmad Khan, who looks after both the Bandipora Municipal Council and the Municipal Committee Sumbal, told Greater Kashmir that besides issuing notices, they have directed the contractors to display the approved rates published in the gazette.
He further added, “We have also installed two CCTV cameras and formed a special tax team from our office who will remain deployed at the toll posts for some days to check for any irregularities or illegal charging of toll tax on private vehicles.” He said they will ensure no such issue happens again. The officer said the same agency operated in Sumbal and Ganderbal.
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