The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has ordered the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to reduce high toll fees in the region within four months, providing relief to commuters, including pilgrims traveling to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.
The court also ruled that toll charges at the Lakhanpur and Bann plazas should be set at 20% of the rates in effect before January 26 last year until the Lakhanpur-Udhampur highway is fully functional.
A division bench, led by Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice MA Chowdhary, issued these directions while hearing a petition demanding toll exemptions on the Jammu-Pathankot Highway between Lakhanpur and Bann until the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway project is completed.
The court emphasized that toll plazas should not be placed across the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh merely to generate revenue from the public. It also noted that the toll fees at Bann and other plazas were excessively high.
