DND flyway toll: Supreme Court upheld the 2016 verdict of the Allahabad High Court and said that awarding the contract to NTBCL was ‘unjust and unfair’.
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the DND flyway will remain toll free. The Apex Court upheld the 2016 verdict of the Allahabad High Court, which directed the bridge company not to collect toll charges and said Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL) was given the contract without issuing public tender, which was a completely arbitrary and wrong decision.
The top court upheld the High Court’s observation that the company has recovered the returns, interest, and costs incurred on the construction of the 8-lane DND flyway and is not entitled to more money. “Company’s appeal has no merit,” a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said.
SC also pulled up the NOIDA authority for delegating toll collection to private firm NTBCL, saying it has resulted in unjust enrichment.
What was 2016 Allahabad High Court ruling?
The Allahabad High Court, in an order in October 2016, said that no toll would be collected from those using the DND flyway. The high court had told the company that they had collected enough toll in the ten years since it was opened to the public in 2001. The order was passed as the high court allowed a PIL by the Federation of Noida Residents’ Welfare Association. Managed by the NTBCL, the 9.2-km long road connects Noida with south Delhi. It sees about 1 lakh vehicles traversing it daily.
