A division bench of Justice Naresh Patil and Justice Ravindra Ghughe declined any interim injunction against the state's decision, but asked it not to pull down the toll booths.
The state said it would issue a notification under the general clauses law to cancel the earlier notification, which allowed for recovery of tax. Government pleader said the state was also planning to draw up a package of Rs 306 crore for compensating the affected contractors.
Of the 166 toll roads in the state, 73 are under the public works department purview, 53 under Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and 40 under the National Highways Authority of India. Earlier this month, the state declared that it was closing 34 booths belonging to PWD and 10 of MSRDC on June 30. These booths are located in Nashik, Amravati, Nagpur, Jalgaon, Dhule, Aurangabad, Pune, Sangli, Solapur, Satara, and Raigad.
Advocate Kamlesh Ghumre, counsel for the contractors, argued that the decision was arbitrary and discriminatory as there was no basis on which the booths to be closed were selected. The plea claimed the contractors had invested huge sums in the development of roads, which had resulted in large-scale industrial development of the areas and generated employment for engineers, labourers and booth attendants.
S Ramachandani, joint managing director, MSRDC said they were awaiting the government notification to discontinue nine tolls. "We are expecting it anytime. It might come into force either tonight (June 30) or July 1 midnight," he said. PWD sources said around 80% of the tolls would be discontinued on Monday night and remaining over the next few days. "This is to be done through a notification," said a source.
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