Poor management of the Vidyasagar Setu toll plaza, resulting in revenue collection far below the target, has prompted the government to hand it over to a private party, starting Saturday.

The toll rates will remain the same, but the toll gates would be tightened to not allow easy passage for free-trippers.

?We had decided to hand over the plaza to a private party to earn more revenue and reduce the burden of its maintenance. The upkeep of the bridge, however, will remain our responsibility,? HRBC vice-chairman Sadhan Banerjee said on Friday.

SMSL-IRD will take control of the plaza on Saturday for five years with a commitment to pay every annum Rs 20.07 crore to the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC), which is responsible for the maintenance of the second bridge on the Hooghly.

HRBC officials said after the bridge was opened to the public in 1992, the government had set a revenue target of Rs 25 crore a year. But the HRBC?s earning from the plaza had never exceeded Rs 11 crore a year, mainly due to the large number of vehicles that managed to pass the toll gate without paying the toll.

The tax could not be collected from several cars flaunting the beacon, as the riders claimed they were VIPs. Truck operators, too, are alleged to have evaded payment by bribing police and the plaza personnel, officials added.

According to the rulebook, only police vehicles on duty, fire brigade vehicles, ambulances and state buses are allowed free passage on the Setu.

The HRBC vice-chairman said the agency had written to the government, asking for a detailed list of vehicles exempt from paying toll.

SMSL-IRD spokesperson Ramesh Rawat said Rs 5 crore would be spent on modernising the plaza, including installation of smart gates.