The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration's decision to stop collection of the toll on Rohini Road that connects Siliguri with Darjeeling has triggered fresh political chatter, largely because the announcement first came from Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista at a media conference, which, surprisingly, the GTA endorsed.

On Thursday, Bista announced that collection of tolls on Rohini Road would stop from June 1.

The toll is being collected by the tourism department of the GTA, which is headed by Anit Thapa, the president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM).

The MP and MLAs of the Darjeeling hills are only ex-offico members of the GTA and cannot make unilateral policy decisions for the hill body.

The BGPM and the BJP are rivals in hill politics.

“From June 1, the toll plaza of Rohini will be closed…. I have told the district magistrate and other officials, too…. I have also told the agency (collecting the tax) to shut shop,” said Bista.

On Friday, GTA chief executive Thapa endorsed Bista’s verbal announcement.

“Yesterday, I heard Raju Bista jiu, MP saheb's press statement. GTA is under the state Act, under the state government. Right now, the state is under the BJP and Raju Bista’s statement can be construed as that of the state government,” Thapa said.

The GTA chief executive said that he had asked the tourism department to issue a notification to stop the collection of tolls from June 1.

Many observers believe that Thapa’s decision reflects the helplessness of the GTA following the regime change.

The demand to shut down the toll plaza at Rohini gathered steam after the BJP government had issued an order on May 12 to close down all “illegal” toll tax collection centres across the state.

Sources in the GTA had then told The Telegraph that the Rohini toll plaza was not illegal and had been duly authorised.

“Collection of toll at Rohini started in 2014, and the GTA used to get an annual amount of ₹40 lakh (from the private vendor),” said a GTA source.

However, in 2023, the GTA revised the rate following a ground survey.

“We conducted an actual survey on the number of vehicles passing through the toll gate and then set up a base price of ₹1.26 crore per annum while floating the tender,” said a source.

A private party, however, bid for ₹1.91 crore per annum to bag the contract.

“Since 2024, we have been receiving ₹1.91 crore as decided through a proper tender,” the source added. “Hence, it is not an illegal collection.”

Thapa on Friday said that the tolls collected by the hill body were used to repair Rohini Road.

“I would also request him (Bista) to kindly transfer the Rohini Road to the PWD (of the state government) for better maintenance. We will also write an official letter on this regard,” said Thapa, who alleged that the hill body has not received dues to the tune of ₹400 crore from the earlier government.