Struggle Against BOT System and Toll Collection .

Struggle Against BOT System and Toll Collection .

The struggle launched by the Kerala State Committee of the CPI(ML) against the Build-Operate-Transfer (BTS) System under the neo-liberal policies has taken a massive form with the call of the Party Trichur district committee to observehartal on 17th January , when the government announced the beginning of the toll collection, which could not be started on 5th December as was planned earlier due to the smashing of the toll gate on 4th night by the Party activists. The suppressive policies including the arrest of Party state secretary com. Provint did not stop the hartal. A large number of people got organized and stopped toll collection again. Hearing about the news of the arrest of com.Provint,  large number of Party activists and supporters marched to Valappad police station demanding his release.

The Party had launched the agitation with a month long campaign when the state government had announced its intention to start collection of toll fees from all vehicles using the newly modified NH-47 at Amballur, south of Trichur, in Kerala, with both ruling UDF and opposition LDF supporting it. It took militant form when the toll gate constructed for this purpose was smashed by a large number of people led by Party activists on 4th December night, on the eve of its beginning. The government was compelled to suspend the collection as a result. A number of Party activists were arrested and asked to pay two lakhs of rupees as damages to get bail. But they refused to accept this bail condition and launched indefinite fast inside the sub-jail. Finally the government was forced to release them. The success of today’s hartal has encouraged the masses led by the Party to intensify the struggle so that the government is forced to withdraw its decision.

During the last two decades after the imposing of neo-liberal policies, the central and state governments had launched a number of BOT projects providing huge benefits to the contractors and construction firms. The cost of construction is inflated many times and the stipend given by the government is often seen sufficient to construct these projects including most of the expressways and highways. After construction, without providing any account of the toll collected annually, huge profits are made  by the firms in connivance with the ruling parties. The Mumbai-Pune expressway is a good example. Even after collecting many times more of the claimed construction cost and profits, the firm is fleecing the vehicles using it. It is the case all over India. It is becoming another indirect taxation over the people. A major struggle is needed to stop the BOT system and toll collection. The agitation on Kerala, recent demonstration at Gurgaon near Delhi and many local struggles at a number of places show that masses can be mobilized along with the vehicle owners and massive struggles can be launched.

CPI(ML) calls on all Party committees to mobilize the masses against BOT system and toll collections and launch struggles against them.

K.N.Ramachandran,

General Secretary, CPI(ML).