Beginning April 1, a private vehicle owner is going to have a free pass at most toll booths in Maharashtra with the BJP government on Wednesday approving such a plan, sources said.

The Devendra Fadnavis government, which was under fire over its U-turn on its election promise of banning all toll in the state, is now set to exempt all cars and SUVs owners from paying toll on most roads.

The state government has also decided to abolish the Local Body Tax, the introduction of which has led to massive protests by traders. Narendra Modi, then BJP's prime ministerial candidate, used to call LBT the Looto Baanto Tax.



The state government had issued directives to the Public Works Department to survey all car users across 91 toll nakas in the state. Of these, the PWD manages 23 toll nakas while 53 are controlled by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

The government was also in a fix over extending the exemption to projects like the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and five other entry points to Mumbai, where cars and SUVs form the bulk of traffic. Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkar is also planning a similar move for national highways.

After the BJP came to power last year, the Congress, the NCP, the MNS and even ally Shiv Sena had campaigned against toll tax in the state. Former cricketer and MP Sachin Tendulkar had also expressed his concerns over the tolls and the traffic disruptions they create.

Even though there is a move proposed to slash power tariff by 20 per cent, Narendra Modi has been stressing on the need for leaving tariff untouched so that governments have sufficient funds to expand the power infrastructure and generation. He had snubbed cuts and waivers by some state governments. But the resounding victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi has forced the BJP to reconsider its rhetoric on populism.

