MURREE, Aug 30: Toll tax levied on the under-construction Islamabad-Murree Dual Carriageway has led to everyday conflict between the toll plaza staff and the locals who were previously exempted from all entry taxes.

Though about 40 per cent construction work on the highway is still incomplete, the National Highway Authority (NHA) has started collecting tax from vehicles at Satra Mile through a contractor.

“The contractor was awarded the tax collection by violating bidding rules and regulations due to his political connection,” alleged Hafiz Saeed Ahmad, the head of a local NGO while talking to reporters.

During the British rule, Sardar Khudadad Khan, a notable of Khanni Tak in Murree, registered a case with the then chief court against imposition of entry tax at the rate of one paisa on the locals and after a long hearing of the case the court exempted the people of Murree from the entry tax.

However, when in 1997, the Punjab government of Shehbaz Sharif re-imposed the entry tax, the locals launched a movement during which many government buildings were set ablaze.

Eventually, the government held negotiations with leaders of the movement and declared the local people exempted from all entry taxes.

When contacted, Mir Dost Mohammad, manager of the toll plaza, showed this correspondent a letter issued by NHA stating the entry tax was being collected with the approval of the prime minister.

The locals, including Sardar Mansoor Khan, a grandson of Sardar Khudada Khan, appealed to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take notice of the matter along with the delay in the construction of the highway.