Overview

• The National Highways Authority of India debarred the toll agency from bidding for one year following the Bhuni Toll Plaza incident.
• An interim penalty of Rs 20 lakh was imposed on M/s Dharam Singh, the toll collector for the Meerut–Karnal section of NH-709A.
• NHAI said the agency’s reply to a show-cause notice was unsatisfactory and cited violations including misconduct, a physical altercation, damage to public property and disruption of fee collection.
• The case stems from an August 17 assault on an Army jawan at the Bhuni/Bhumi Toll Plaza, for which an FIR has been filed.
• NHAI directed all toll operators to train staff on proper conduct, take strong action against offenders and accelerate the shift to Multi-Lane Free Flow tolling to reduce such confrontations.