Illegal charging at NHAI Ban Toll Plaza will lead to law & Order problem: Katra Hotel Associations

Open violation of NHAI guidelines

An emergency joint meeting of Hotel & Restaurant Association,Katra (HRAK) & PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry Jammu Region (PHDCCI) was held here today under the Chairmanship President HRAK & Co-Chairman PHDCCI Rakesh Wazir & Chairman HRAK Shyam lal Kesar wherein strategy was chalked our with regard to open violation of NHAI guidelines and Illegal charging at Ban Toll Naka which will lead to major law & order problem.

Mr.Wazir while speaking on the occasion said that a peculiar type of situation has arisen at Toll Post Ban wherein a self styled type of system has been started wherein they have started openly floating the norms set by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways,National Highways Authority of India and even the clarifications given by the Deputy Commissioner/s concerned openly and the biggest example of this is stopping of renewing of legal passes being issued since more than 3 years back for the vehicles of locals falling within 20 KM area particularly to the people of Katra given on the basis of proper NHAI guidelines which mandates NHAI toll plazas for issuing of these passes and that too on the basis of proper authentication by the Deputy Commissioner concerned at that point of time that areas are within 20 KMs and are continuously getting renewed every month, on the pretext that they would not obey the authentication of the Deputy Commissioners with regard to the areas,falling within 20 KM area,the basic for issuance of that passes.

Mr.Wazir said that they were obserbing many violations at Toll Post Ban but had never even thought that the ignorance of those violations will encourage them to such a level that they will stop ignoring the government authorities and their guidelines and it is even more surprising to see that a contractor who has been given the contract of Collecting the money at Toll Post has become more powerful and posing himself to be an authority even superior than Deputy Commissioner merely on the basis of muscle power and even challenging the authentications given by then Deputy Commissioners of Jammu & Reasi with regard to the limit of areas and that too on the request of NHAI and is refusing to renew the passes.

Mr.Kesar while speaking on the occasion said that there are series of violations on the Ban Toll Plaza including Charging of money from the exempt category Vehicles, no separate tag line for ambulances,tag bearing vehicles,exempt categeory Vehicles,non bearing of uniforms & name plates by the employees overthere,non adherence of time limit set for collecting toll from the vehicles standing in the que which remain in the line for hours together just for saving of money on staff and machines for that,refusal of making passes after 7th of every month which is mandatory to be given for whole complete month,Keeping of muscle men including Gun Men overthere and misbehaving with people etc. and is a routine overthere and now have reached to such a level that they have stopped renewing the already given passes issued to more than 700 vehicles that too since more than 3 years back/starting of the Toll plaza.

Mr.Wazir said that if this is not stopped it will lead to major law & order problem and its total responsibility will lie on the Toll Post people and asked the NHAI for cancellation of their contract immediately and requested the authorities for taking proper action against them for all the violations including lodging of FIRs.

The meeting among others was attended by Virender Keasar President Katra PHDCCI,Gen.Secretary HRAK Kuldeep Dubey,Vice Presidents Ajay Kotwal.Meena Wazir,Nishant Sharma, Rohit Dubey,Amit Rahi,Vivek Sharma, Secretary Mohit Dubey besides members of HRAK & PHDCCI.

Sd/-

( Rakesh Wazir )

President

Hotel & Restaurant Association,Katra