Dahisar toll naka to be shifted, relief for Mira-Bhayandar

The decision was taken on Tuesday by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, who is also urban development minister and minister for the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC)

MUMBAI: The Dahisar toll naka, a major traffic bottleneck for motorists using the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway, will be shifted 2km north of its present location, bringing relief to residents of Mira Bhayandar.

The area is a bottleneck, causing daily traffic jams. (HT Photo)

The decision was taken on Tuesday by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, who is also urban development minister and minister for the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

The highway connects two vital cities, one of them being Mumbai, the country’s commercial capital. Traffic volumes have grown exponentially over time, causing traffic gridlock and unbearable delays for motorists at the Dahisar toll naka. These delays not only impact motorists on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, but also motorists in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, especially Mira-Bhayandar, which lies just beyond Mumbai’s city limits.

The proposed plan is to shift the toll plaza north of Mira-Bhayandar, excluding the stretch of highway that serves this region. It will be moved to a point near the Versova bridge on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.

Relocating the naka will not impact toll collection as the levy on small vehicles was waived at the five entry points to Mumbai – two at Mulund and one each at Dahisar, Vashi and Airloi – before the assembly elections last year. Only the toll on heavy vehicles remains, causing traffic pile-ups at the plaza as small vehicles queue up along with trucks and trailers on the highway route, even though only the latter have to pay the toll.

Moving the toll naka is seen as a political move as transport minister Pratap Sarnaik’s assembly constituency includes a part of Mira-Bhayandar. Both Sarnaik and Shinde are Shiv Sena leaders.

Sarnaik has been pushing for the plaza to be moved for a while, pointing to delays that extend from 30 minutes to even an hour at the naka. Residents of Mira-Bhayandar and elsewhere too had demanded that the plaza be shifted.

The proposal will be forwarded to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) as the new toll plaza will be located on a stretch of highway under the NHAI’s jurisdiction. It will also have to be cleared by the ministry of road transport in Delhi. Sarnaik said it would take two months to implement the new plan.

Mira-Bhayandar resident Vivek Surve said, “This will be a huge relief and will save time. At times, it takes an hour to cross the naka. As a result, I often account for two extra hours before I have an appointment in Mumbai.’’

The Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde is taking credit for the plan, leaving Dahisar MLA Manisha Chaudhari (BJP) out in the cold. Chaudhari was not invited to the meeting chaired by Shinde on Tuesday even though she had raised the issue several times.

Present at the meeting were Maghthane MLA Prakash Surve (Sena) MSRDC joint managing director Manuj Jindal, NHAI director Suhas Chitnis, and Mira-Bhayandar Vasai Virar police commissioner Niket Kaushik.