In a significant move, the Kerala High Court has prolonged the suspension of toll collection at the Paliyekkara plaza, managed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), until Friday. This extension comes as the court awaits concrete evidence of repair progress along the crucial 65-kilometer Edappally-Mannuthy NH 544 route.
Representing the Central government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that traffic flow on the national highway had noticeably improved. He highlighted the financial and logistical challenges faced by the NHAI due to the continued suspension of tolls across the entire corridor. Mehta clarified that the Centre’s role is limited to issuing broad policy guidelines to the NHAI, not dictating decisions on specific highway sections, warning that doing so could open a floodgate of similar requests nationwide.
However, the Thrissur Collector, participating remotely in the proceedings, painted a different picture. While acknowledging general improvements, the Collector emphasized persistent traffic bottlenecks during peak hours in several parts of the NH corridor. Consequently, the High Court instructed the Collector to personally inspect the problem areas and issue binding directives to the NHAI to ensure thorough and effective repairs.