Hyderabad: In defiance of MoD orders, SCB still pockets toll tax

Hyderabad: Defying the orders issued by Ministry of Defence (MoD) to remove check posts and stop collecting toll tax in Cantonment limits six months a ago, Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) authorities are still collecting toll tax from the autos, four wheelers and vehicles carrying goods in the limits. As per the SCB officials, if the toll tax counters gets close, then board will lose up to Rs 10 crore per year.

Raising objections on collecting the toll tax, residents has pointed out that this practice of collecting toll tax without uniformity was going on since 1965, and after many protests held by the residential welfare associations in September last year, the MoD have issued orders in all the 62 Cantonments across India to scrap toll tax to make way for smooth movement of goods but SCB has disobeyed the order and still continuing this process. Currently, they are 26 checkpoints within the SCB limits, they added.

"Recently I was stopped at the Paradise check post and was forced to pay toll tax as the concerned officials threatened me. The question is that when already MoD has issued an order to stop collecting the toll tax then why SCB is still continuing, many times we have raised objections and demanded the same but it was overlooked," said T Satish Kumar Gupta, a social activist.

"We locals are facing difficulties to transport our goods from other municipalities after we questioned the authorities over tax collections.

The orders was passed in January 2022 but the final resolution was passed in the SCB on September last year," pointed out another SCB resident.

When The Hans India questioned the SCB officials on the same, on condition of anonymity, a senior officer of SCB, said "discontinuing it will hit the SCB coffers adversely, so we have send a proposal on not to abolish the toll tax collection in the SCB, we are awaiting to get a reply from MoD."