DND flyway to remain toll free: Supreme Court

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Delhi In a significant development, the Supreme Court refused to put a stay on the Allahabad High Court order making the Delhi-Noida-Direct Flyway toll free. The apex court, in its judgement, also ordered the CAG audit of the toll bridge company Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL), which had filed a plea in the apex court against the Allahabad High Court`s order.

The apex court further asked the CAG to file its report within four weeks on total money invested and spent in construction of the DND flyway. In its plea, the NTBCL had asked the apex court put a stay on the Allahabad HC order asking it to stop collecting toll from commuters plying on the DND flyway connecting Delhi and neighbouring Noida.

The apex court had on October 28 refused to stay the Allahabad High Court`s order that no toll will be collected from commuters moving on the DND till further orders. The apex court had earlier said that it will get the profit account of DND toll company audited either by CAG or by an independent auditor to find whether the profit recovered was adequate.

The flyover connects Delhi on the west bank of the Yamuna with Noida and East Delhi. A division bench comprising Justices Arun Tandon and Sunita Agarwal passed the order while allowing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Federation of Noida Residents` Welfare Association. The PIL, which was filed in 2012, had challenged the “levy and collection of toll in the name of user fee by the Noida Toll Bridge Company”.