Get ready to pay for a drive through Tata-Kandra Road, the lifeline that links the steel city with industrial town of Adityapur in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district.
Come Tuesday, all private and commercial vehicles, barring two-wheelers, will be charged for using the thoroughfare as per the rates notified by the state road construction department on Saturday.
Dinesh Kumar Rajak, the executive engineer, road construction, Seraikela division, said the department had chalked out a detailed rate chart that would be displayed prominently in separate boards at the toll plaza set up at the fag end of the road in Kandra, Adityapur, for the convenience of motorists.
"We have made all arrangements for starting toll collections from 6am on Tuesday. Except two-wheelers, all vehicles will have to pay tax while entering or going out of the toll plaza," he added.
Rajak further said different rates would be charged based on three broad categories - one-way ride, return trip and monthly.
According to the new rates, cars, jeeps and other light vehicles, including three-wheelers, will be charged Rs 15 for one-way ride, Rs 25 for a to-and-fro trip and Rs 505 for month-long use.
The rates for light commercial vehicles, including mini buses, will be Rs 25, Rs 35 and Rs 815, respectively, while buses and trucks will have to pay Rs 50, Rs 75 and Rs 1,705.
Similarly, heavy vehicles with three-six axles will be charged Rs 80, Rs 120 and Rs 2,675, respectively, whereas those having seven axles or more will pay Rs 100, Rs 145 and Rs 3,255, respectively.
A Lucknow-based firm, Balaji Enterprises, has bagged the tender for toll collection on the road for two years.
A rough estimate suggests that on an average 1,000 trucks and other heavy vehicles from Adityapur industrial hub pass through the Kandra-based toll plaza every day, which will help boost the firm's coffers.
As per the agreement inked on February 13, the firm will have to pay Rs 5 crore to the road construction department every year.
"The agency will be solely responsible for collecting the toll for the next two years, after which a fresh tender will be issued," Rajak said.
Jharkhand Accelerated Road Development Company Ltd (JARDCL) had built the four-lane Tata-Kandra Road for Rs 185.5 crore in 2012 on a public-private partnership mode.
As per the agreement, the department has to pay Rs 22.5 crore to JARDCL every six months as reimbursement.
"The department started paying the installments in January 2015 and will continue to do so for the next 14 years. With the toll collection beginning this week, it will now be easy for the department to meet its commitments," said a source.
A local NGO, Jan Kalyan Morcha, has, nevertheless, opposed the move.
"Technically, the work of the artery is still incomplete. Service lanes on either side of the four-lane are lying incomplete at more than one points As a result, small vehicles are forced to take the main lanes meant for heavy vehicles. It increases chances of mishap," said NGO's president Om Prakash.
