Surat: In what could easily pass as one of the most entrepreneurial experiments, residents of Choryasi village in Kamrej taluka of Surat decided that if you can’t beat a toll plaza, you might as well set up your own.Just a stone’s throw away from the bustling Choryasi toll plaza on the Bharuch–Surat stretch of National Highway 48 (NH 48), villagers set up their own “mini toll booth” — minus the boom barriers, but with full billing confidence. Their target? Vehicles cleverly dodging the official toll (Rs 420 for buses/trucks and Rs 125 for cars) by sneaking through village roads.Initially, the villagers complained to the Choryasi toll plaza authorities about vehicles using internal roads to avoid paying the heavy toll.However, when the highway authorities did not act, the villagers found their own solution: stop the vehicles, collect a flat Rs 50, and issue printed receipts — complete with “Gram Panchayat Choryasi” printed on them — giving the entire operation an official flair. This was done after the village panchayat passed a resolution to collect money from vehicles using the village roads to bypass the main toll.Choryasi sarpanch Mukesh Patel maintained that the decision was taken collectively and said further comments would follow. However, the village’s toll dreams hit a regulatory speed bump when Kamrej police hit the brakes on the collection drive on Sunday, terming it illegal. The police swung into action after videos of this grassroots toll regime went viral.“We came to know about the toll collection inside the village. When we reached and asked for permission, villagers cited a panchayat resolution. We’ve sent it to the Taluka Development Officer to verify under which rule such a toll can be collected,” said police inspector R B Gojiya, adding that villagers claimed the collection wasn’t forced.
