India, July 1 -- Ignoring the directions of Supreme Court's Monitoring Committee and overruling strong objections from Planning Commission Members, the plan panel has approved a 1.5-time increase in toll rates for Eastern Peripheral Expressway. This increase was proposed by CP Joshi, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, and the proposal was mooted by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia's advisor Gajendra Haldea.

The documents available with The Pioneer show that on several occasions, NHAI (National Highway Authority of India) officials objected to the proposal to increase EPE toll rates and said it was an attempt to help the developer of Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE), whose toll rates were less. T...