Commuters travelling in cars will have to pay a toll of Rs 350 per trip on the 21.8 km Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) which is being named as Atal Setu after its inauguration on January 12. The Mumbai metropolitan Region Development (MMRDA), which is the nodal agency for the Rs 17,843 crore sea link connecting Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, had proposed a toll of Rs 500 per trip but to avoid backlash from the commuters the urban development department slashed it to Rs 350 per trip. The state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, will give its approval at its meeting slated for Thursday.
According to the cabinet note, the urban development has proposed toll of Rs 560 per trip for LCV/mini bus (against MMRDA’s proposal of Rs 800), for bus/2 Axle truck Rs 1180 (Rs 1660), MAV (3 axle Rs 1290 (Rs 1810), MAV 4–6 axle Rs 1850 (Rs 2600) and oversized vehicles Rs 2250 (Rs 3160). The toll plazas are being proposed at Shivajinagar and Chirle (Gavan).
These toll rates will be proposed from January 2024 to December 2026 and they have been fixed with a base year of 2018 considering 6% annual rise. The toll rates have been proposed for the period for 30 years from 2024 to 2053. The financial flow due to toll collection has been proposed negative at Rs 42.2 crore for the year 2028 but the urban development department has said it will be for that year only.
‘’The actual traffic numbers on Atal Setu will be available only after the bridge is open for commuting and later financial flow can be finalised. The said toll is proposed for 30 years, from 2024 to 2053. The changed fare should be fixed for first five years and studying the traffic and financial flow, further toll can be finalised,” said the cabinet note.
The toll collected will be deposited in the Escrow Account and from that amount then MMRDA will repay the loan of Rs 15,100 crore taken from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and also for the interest payment. The state finance department has said that the urban development department, which is held by the Chief Minister, will take due care for the use of the money for the purpose of repayment of loan and interest payment. The finance department has also pointed out that the urban development department will also see that there will not be any financial burden on the state government as the money needed for the maintenance and repairs will be carried out from the money collected through toll collection.
Moreover, the cabinet will also clear the urban development department’s proposal to declare the MTHL project as the ambitious urban transport project. MTHL’s service period is 100 years considering the use of imported modern technology and construction material.
According to MMRDA, the MTHL would be the longest sea bridge in India. The bridge will begin in Sewri, South Mumbai and cross Thane Creek north of Elephant Island and will terminate at Chirle village, near Nhava Sheva. It will give faster connectivity with the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport, JNPT Port, Mumbai – Pune Expressway and Mumbai – Goa Highway. On the Mumbai side, Connectivity is planned through the Sewri Worli Elevated Connector project. At present 96% physical work of the project has been completed while the water proofing, anti crash barriers and tarring works were underway.
The total length of MTHL Bridge is 21.8 km in which length on sea is 16.50 km and on land portion is 5.5 km. The sea link will contain a 6-lane (3+3 lane) highway+1 emergency lane on both sides. There are 7 nos of OSD (Orthotropic steel Deck) spans of length 90m to 180m which are used on the bridge for the first time in India. There are Interchanges, at Sewri in Mumbai, Shivaji-Nagar and SH-54 in Jasai and at Chirle on NH-348.
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