Elected representatives of gram Panchayats and villagers met at Ichhapore village recently to decide on agitating against the proposed move to contract a private agency for toll collection.

While the recarpeting and upgradation of the road will benefit Kribhco, NTPC, Reliance, Essar and L&T, villagers are complaining that the industries had initially promised to convert the full length of the Surat-Hazira road into a four-lane one, to be overruled by the State government, which decided to do the work on its own. The job was later entrusted to GIDC, which restricted the conversion to the six-km stretch.

However, instead of collecting money from industrial users only, GIDC has reportedly decided to tax villagers using the road as well. Villagers use the road for a variety of purposes, including transporting of vegetables and milk. If the toll is imposed, all of them will have to pay a certain amount each time they use the road. Since there is no alternative road, the toll will affect their means of livelihood.

The meeting questioned the logic of part conversion of the road, since the avowed intention of the project was to reduce traffic congestion on the Surat-Hazira road, and said the cost could be recovered from the five industrial users.