Puri: Motorists here have complained of irregularities at a toll plaza near Churali on the New Jagannath Sadak as a private contractor has been overcharging them by issuing fake receipts.
The contractor, engaged by the Odisha Bridge and Construction Company (OB&CC), has been issuing fake receipts to motorists to collect higher toll fees, said Santosh Kumar Mohanty, a resident of Puri Sadar area, in his complaint to the District Collector.
As per the complaint, the OB&CC has engaged Trinath Martha, the contractor, through open bidding to collect toll at Churali toll gate from August 10, 2019 to August 10, 2020. The contractor was supposed to pay around Rs 32 lakh to the OB&CC during the period.
As per the guidelines of Public Works department, Martha has been permitted to collect Rs 5 to Rs 7 each as toll from three-wheelers, Rs 10 to Rs 15 from cars/SUVs and Rs 20 to Rs 30 from a buses, trucks and pick-up vans. This apart, the contractor has been permitted to charge anywhere from Rs 200 to Rs 300 as toll from heavy vehicles.
However, the contractor is charging three times more than the prescribed toll by issuing fake receipts. The receipts issued by the contractor did not have serial number, date and time of its issuance and the vehicle number, alleged Mohanty in his complaint.
