Click to play videoMumbai: Twenty five-year old IT professional Dipti Deshpande and her friend Diya Sengupta are furious. From now on, they would have to pay to drive down Mumbai's major roads.
"The roads are constructed and repaired with the tax money that I pay. Now they want me to pay for just driving over them. Is this some kind of a joke?" says Dipti.
But if software firm Mastek, has its way you might have to shell out user charges the next time you use certain major roads or flyovers during peak hours.
The firm has been appointed consultants by the state government to help solve traffic problems.
"Software and technology of all kinds – scanners, video technology etc. can be used intelligently to solve Mumbai's traffic problem,” says founder of Mastek, Ashank Desai.
The plan of action involves setting up cameras and scanners on major congested roads to detect the car's registration number; special software will be used to determine the car owner; the owner will then be sent a bill based on his road usage; electronic payment systems will be set up to ease bill payment.
But voices of dissent can already be heard.
"You can't ask people to pay when you haven't provided any alternative mode of transport,” says Executive Chairman, WIAA, Nitin Dossa.
Experts believe that choosing roads on which user charges would be levied would also be quite a task given that residential and commercial areas are not clearly demarcated in a city like Mumbai.
(With inputs from Yogita Limaye in Mumbai)
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