In a significant move ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has declared that light motor vehicles will no longer need to pay tolls at the five toll booths in Mumbai, effective from midnight.
During a Cabinet meeting, Shinde announced the toll waiver, which aims to provide relief to commuters traveling in and out of Mumbai just before Diwali. This decision will eliminate toll fees at the following booths: Dahisar, LBS Road-Mulund, Eastern Express Highway-Mulund, Airoli Creek Bridge, and Vashi.
Light motor vehicles, which encompass cars, jeeps, vans, and small trucks, make up about 80% of the more than 600,000 vehicles that cross Mumbai daily.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation originally built toll booths in the city to recover the costs associated with the construction of 55 flyovers, initiated under former minister Nitin Gadkari. The first tender for toll booth construction was issued in 1999, with all five booths becoming operational in 2002.
Activists have long argued that the costs of maintaining these toll booths were recouped over a decade ago, yet toll collection continued. Last year, the state government extended the toll collection period for three more years, projecting an income of approximately ₹11,000 crore.
Various political factions, including the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and leaders from both Uddhav Thackeray’s and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena factions, have pushed for a toll waiver at all entry points to Mumbai. Recently, Aaditya Thackeray, a leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), also called for a complete toll exemption at the city’s entry points.