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Economic Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Supreme Court upholds toll-free status for DND Flyway, ending controversy over toll charges
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The DND flyway will remain toll-free, as the Supreme Court of India on Friday dismissed the Noida Toll Bridge Company 's petition seeking a review of its December order that prohibited the company from collecting toll charges on the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyway, a crucial route connecting Delhi and Noida, Uttar DND flyway, which has been operational since 2001, has drastically reduced traffic congestion and travel time between Delhi and Noida. Before the Allahabad High Court decision that halted the collection of these toll charges, commuters were charged Rs 28 for a one-way trip or Rs 56 for a round trip on the the counsel, appearing for the toll firm, on Friday said that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report relied upon by the apex court had some positive remarks on the company that the SC order did not reflect, a Bench led by Justice Surya Kant dismissed the petition, saying the CAG report was an 'eye opener' and the company had "minted a lot of money".The top court, however, while referring to NTBCL official Pradeep Puri petition seeking deletion of personal remarks against him in the judgement, said it would reproduce the CAG report in this on the development in the SC, NTBCL in its official statement said that it 'would be evaluating further legal options, with a view to continue safeguarding the interest of the company, the flyway, stakeholders and nearly 60000 investors.'On December 20, in a big relief to commuters, the apex court had upheld a 2016 decision by the HC halted the collection of these toll charges, while dismissing the NTBCL's the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) for allowing a toll company to exploit users indefinitely, the apex court said the contract awarded to NTBCL through a Concession Agreement by state authorities and NOIDA was unfair, unjust and inconsistent with Constitutional norms and NOIDA exceeded its authority by delegating the power to levy fees or impose tolls to the company, 'rendering such delegation invalid.'The Concession Agreement was executed between NTBCL, Noida and the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) in 1997 for the construction of the eight-lane DND flyway, stretching 9.2 km from Noida to Delhi, under the build-own-operate-transfer model. NTBCL, which was promoted by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, had the rights to collect and levy a report from the CAG, the bench noted that NTBCL had already recovered both the construction cost and a fair profit since the flyway opened in 2001. "The sum of Rs 1,136 crore, i.e. the total expenses incurred by NTBCL are based on the statutory accounts from 2001 to March 2016. This sum includes all the unrecovered project costs added before the date of commissioning of the project and the inflated and unnecessary expenditures undertaken by NTBCL such as, travelling expenses, legal fees, extraordinary salaries and bonuses to employees, etc," it said, adding "it seems to us that no person or entity can be allowed to make an undue and unjust profit from public property, at the cost of the public at large."The Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Associations had moved the HC challenging the levy and collection of toll in the name of 'user fee' by NTBCL.
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Supreme Court upholds toll-free status for DND Flyway, ending controversy over toll charges
The DND flyway will remain toll-free, as the Supreme Court of India on Friday dismissed the Noida Toll Bridge Company 's petition seeking a review of its December order that prohibited the company from collecting toll charges on the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyway, a crucial route connecting Delhi and Noida, Uttar Pradesh. #Operation Sindoor India-Pakistan Clash Live Updates| Missiles, shelling, and attacks — here's all that's happening Pakistani Air Force jet shot down in Pathankot by Indian Air Defence: Sources India on high alert: What's shut, who's on leave, and state-wise emergency measures The DND flyway, which has been operational since 2001, has drastically reduced traffic congestion and travel time between Delhi and Noida. Before the Allahabad High Court decision that halted the collection of these toll charges, commuters were charged Rs 28 for a one-way trip or Rs 56 for a round trip on the expressway. While the counsel, appearing for the toll firm, on Friday said that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report relied upon by the apex court had some positive remarks on the company that the SC order did not reflect, a Bench led by Justice Surya Kant dismissed the petition, saying the CAG report was an 'eye opener' and the company had "minted a lot of money". The top court, however, while referring to NTBCL official Pradeep Puri petition seeking deletion of personal remarks against him in the judgement, said it would reproduce the CAG report in this regard. Reacting on the development in the SC, NTBCL in its official statement said that it 'would be evaluating further legal options, with a view to continue safeguarding the interest of the company, the flyway, stakeholders and nearly 60000 investors.' On December 20, in a big relief to commuters, the apex court had upheld a 2016 decision by the HC halted the collection of these toll charges, while dismissing the NTBCL's appeal. Criticising the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) for allowing a toll company to exploit users indefinitely, the apex court said the contract awarded to NTBCL through a Concession Agreement by state authorities and NOIDA was unfair, unjust and inconsistent with Constitutional norms and NOIDA exceeded its authority by delegating the power to levy fees or impose tolls to the company, 'rendering such delegation invalid.' The Concession Agreement was executed between NTBCL, Noida and the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) in 1997 for the construction of the eight-lane DND flyway, stretching 9.2 km from Noida to Delhi, under the build-own-operate-transfer model. NTBCL, which was promoted by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, had the rights to collect and levy toll. Citing a report from the CAG, the bench noted that NTBCL had already recovered both the construction cost and a fair profit since the flyway opened in 2001. "The sum of Rs 1,136 crore, i.e. the total expenses incurred by NTBCL are based on the statutory accounts from 2001 to March 2016. This sum includes all the unrecovered project costs added before the date of commissioning of the project and the inflated and unnecessary expenditures undertaken by NTBCL such as, travelling expenses, legal fees, extraordinary salaries and bonuses to employees, etc," it said, adding "it seems to us that no person or entity can be allowed to make an undue and unjust profit from public property, at the cost of the public at large." The Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Associations had moved the HC challenging the levy and collection of toll in the name of 'user fee' by NTBCL.
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Business Standard
09-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Supreme Court upholds decision to keep DND flyway toll free for all
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to review its decision upholding that Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway would remain toll free in a respite to lakhs of daily commuters. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh dismissed the plea seeking review of the December 20, 2024 verdict on a plea of Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL), a private firm running the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway. The firm referred to the CAG report relied upon by the apex court and said it had some positive remarks on the company, which the order did not reflect. The bench told the company's counsel that it had "minted a lot of money". The top court, however, while referring to another plea of senior NTBCL official Pradeep Puri for deletion of personal remarks against him reportedly made in the verdict on the basis of CAG's findings, said it would reproduce the report. Puri's counsel said CAG did not make any personal comments against him and the paragraph in the verdict, as a result, could be clarified. On December 20, last year, the top court upheld the decision of Allahabad High Court making the DND flyway toll-free and castigated the NOIDA authority and the Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments saying the blatant misuse of power and breach of public trust have profoundly shocked its conscience. The top court had then dismissed an appeal of NTBCL against the 2016 decision of the high court order asking it to stop collecting toll from commuters. "NTBCL has recovered the project costs and substantial profits, eliminating any justification for the continued imposition or collection of user fees or tolls," it said. The top court observed NOIDA overstepped its authority by delegating the power to levy fees to NTBCL through the concession agreement and regulations, exceeding the scope of its powers. If a governmental action disproportionately favours a private entity at the expense of public welfare, it is liable to be struck down as invalid, it added. Holding no person or entity could be allowed to make an undue and unjust profit from public property, at the cost of the public at large, the apex court referred to the CAG report which stated that the annual toll income of NTBCL during 2001-2016 was Rs 892.51 crore. "NTBCL has been making profits for the last 11 years; has no accumulated losses as of March 31, 2016; has paid dividends of Rupees 243.07 crores till March 31, 2016 to its shareholders; and repaid all its debt with interest. NTBCL had thus, by March 31, 2016, recovered the project costs, the maintenance costs, and a significant profit on its initial investment. There is no rhyme or reason for the collection of user fees/tolls to continue," the court said.
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
DND flyway to remain toll free as SC junks Noida Toll Bridge Co's review plea
The DND flyway will remain toll-free. The Supreme Court dismissed Noida Toll Bridge Company's review petition. This upholds an earlier decision halting toll collection on the Delhi-Noida Direct flyway. The court cited a CAG report indicating the company had already recovered costs and profits. The court criticised NOIDA for allowing indefinite exploitation of users. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The DND flyway will remain toll-free, as the Supreme Court of India (SC) on Friday dismissed the Noida Toll Bridge Company 's (NTBCL) review comes in response to a plea filed by NTBCL seeking a review of its December order, which prohibited the company from collecting toll charges on the Delhi- Noida Direct (DND) flyway, a crucial route connecting Delhi and Noida, Uttar 2016, the Supreme Court had upheld a 2016 decision by the Allahabad High Court , which had halted toll collection on the flyway. The SC had also dismissed NTBCL's appeal on December DND flyway, which has been in operation since 2001, significantly reduced traffic congestion and travel time between Delhi and Noida. Prior to the High Court ruling, commuters had to pay Rs 28 for a one-way trip or Rs 56 for a round trip on the the SC had criticised the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) for permitting a toll company to exploit users indefinitely, stating that the contract awarded to NTBCL through a Concession Agreement was unfair, unjust, and inconsistent with constitutional norms. The court also ruled that NOIDA had exceeded its authority by allowing the company to impose toll charges, rendering such a delegation of power Concession Agreement, signed in 1997 between NTBCL, Noida, and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), was for the construction of the eight-lane DND flyway, which stretches 9.2 km from Noida to Delhi, under the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model. NTBCL, promoted by IL&FS, had the right to levy and collect to a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the SC bench noted that NTBCL had already recovered both the construction cost and a fair profit since the flyway's opening in 2001. The report stated that NTBCL had incurred Rs 1,136 crore in expenses, including unrecovered project costs and inflated expenditures on items such as travel, legal fees, and excessive employee salaries and bonuses. The court emphasised that no entity should be allowed to make unjust profit from public property at the expense of the Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Associations had previously challenged the toll collection in the High Court, leading to the suspension of the toll charges.
