The BJP government has ordered the immediate closure of unauthorised toll or grop gates as there were allegations that several local bodies levied tolls on district, urban and rural roads illegally during the tenure of the Mamata Banerjee government.

"All toll gates, drop gates, barricaded structures and operational collection points from which vehicular traffic is operating across all districts of West Bengal, which have not been duly approved/authorised by the competent authority of the Government of West Bengal, shall be closed without any immediate effect," reads an order issued by chief secretary Manoj Agarwal on Tuesday.

Sources in the state administration said that the order had hit a practice by powerful leaders of the Trinamool Congress, through which a handsome amount was illegally collected during the previous regime.

"Local powerful leaders of the then-ruling party used to set up toll gates on their own and levy tolls on vehicles. As all such gates were not approved by the authorities concerned, funds collected from these points were never deposited in the state exchequer. These were collected entirely by the local leaders. The top brass of the government knew everything, but nothing was done," said an official.

A section of the officials said that the former chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, was against levying tolls, and that was why toll tax could not be collected for using state highways, urban roads or any other roads.

In Bengal, toll used to be levied on the national highways only.

"But unofficially, there were several points from where political leaders, in the names of panchayats, zilla parishads or municipalities, used to collect toll. Hundreds of such points used to exist across the state. Several complaints were lodged with the government against these points, but nothing was done," said an official.

The order issued by the chief secretary said district magistrates would have to identify all such unauthorised toll gates and dismantle them immediately. The DMs would also ensure that similar points didn't crop up in future.

The district authorities would have to seize the funds collected by the authorised toll points and deposit the same in the state exchequer. The DMs were asked to prepare lists of unauthorised toll points and authorised toll points and submit them to Nabanna by May 15.

According to sources, the previous government repeatedly rejected proposals to levy tolls on roads by the public works department and the state highway development corporation, citing that toll tax would put a burden on the common people.

"But it remained silent on the complaints of illegal toll points. It was completely a dubious act by the previous government as it allowed a section of political leaders to collect a handsome amount by levying toll on vehicles in an illegal way, bypassing the state's announced policy," said an official.

The "rampant corruption" during the Trinamool rule was the main plank of the BJP's campaign for the Assembly polls.