Udupi, Dec 2: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has directed its regional office to not collect the combined user fee at the Hejamadi toll gate until a concrete decision or consensus is reached on the matter.
A press communique issued by NHAI on the revision of user fee rates at Hejamadi toll plaza following the closure of Surathkal toll gate said Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat had telephonically directed the regional authority to not collect user fee of Surathkal toll plaza at Hejamadi till December 5.
A meeting has been scheduled on December 5 by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari with the Ministers and MLAs of Udupi district to discuss the issue, Bhat said.
He said a meeting would be held on Saturday in which the Udupi district in-charge Minister and people's representatives would take part to discuss the merger of two toll plazas and its repercussions.
The Udupi MLA suggested considering the division of Surathkal toll plaza user fee equally among the three toll gates - Bhramarakotlu, Talapady, Hejamadi - instead of adding the entire user fee amount at Hejamadi gate which would lead to protests by the public.
Udupi deputy commissioner M Kurma Rao has also requested the NHAI officials to not collect the combined user fee at Hejamadi, terming the move as incorrect and unjustified.
The toll gate at Surathkal near here was closed on Thursday after prolonged protests by the public, citing the existence of two toll plazas within a 10-km distance which violated National Highway rules.
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Bhopal, Mar 28: Nakul Nath, the lone Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh who has been renominated from Chhindwara by his party, has declared assets worth nearly Rs 700 crore, according to his election affidavit.
Nath is among the 113 candidates who have filed their nomination papers for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in the central state on April 19. The filing of nomination papers for this phase drew to a close on Wednesday.
As per his affidavit, Nakul Nath's wealth has gone up by Rs 40 crore in the past five years.
In his latest submission to the Election Commission, Nakul Nath has declared movable property, including cash, shares and bonds, worth Rs 649.51 crore and Rs 48.07 crore of immovable property.
The sitting Chhindwara MP, son of former chief minister and influential Congress leader Kamal Nath, had topped the list of 475 Lok Sabha crorepati members in 2019, according to the non-profit Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).
According to ADR, the entrepreneur politician had declared assets worth Rs 660 crore in 2019 when he contested from Chhindwara, the pocket borough of his father, and emerged as the only Congress winner in the state.
That year, the BJP had won 28 of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh.
Kamal Nath, who successfully contested from Chhindwara, had declared assets worth Rs 134 crore in his poll affidavit ahead of last year's assembly elections, according to ADR.
Notably, Nakul Nath frequently uses an aircraft but does not have a car, according to his affidavit.
To breach the citadel of the Naths, the BJP is raking up Kamal Nath's flying machines to script a narrative of wealthy-versus-commoner after pitting its candidate Vivek Sahu against Nakul Nath.
The Congress has been on a winning streak from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat since 1952, it has lost just once to the BJP. Kamal Nath had won this seat for a record nine times.
"A big Congress leader. A very big leader... keeps two, not one, helicopters at his house. When he returns, he lands the chopper right inside his home. He had been an MP chief minister," Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had said at an election rally in Sidhi recently.
Yadav said his government had decided that there would be a helicopter but the poor will have access to it. "To rush poor people to hospitals for urgent treatment," Yadav had said, seeking to shed light on the state's recently launched air ambulance service for citizens during medical emergencies.
BJP candidate Sahu has also attacked the former CM over his helicopter use during public outreaches. According to locals, Nath has two helipads at his residence in the Shikrapur area of Chhindwara.