Uniform Toll Policy: The Union Road Transport Ministry is actively working on a uniform toll policy aimed at enhancing the experience of national highway users, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on Monday. Speaking about India's expanding road network, Gadkari also asserted that the country's highway infrastructure now matches that of the United States.
The proposed uniform toll policy is expected to introduce a more streamlined, transparent, and efficient toll collection system, ensuring fairness for commuters while maintaining road quality. The move comes as India continues to invest heavily in modernising its transport infrastructure, with world-class expressways and improved connectivity across states.
What did the Gadkari say?
"We are working on a uniform toll policy. It will address the problem faced by the commuters," Gadkari told news agency PTI. His remarks came when he was responding to a question on simmering discontent among users of National Highways on account of high toll charges and sub-par road-user experience. He further said that the ministry has decided to initially implement a barrier-less global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-based toll collection system on national highways.
As per Gadkari, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has been taking the complaints made by commuters on social media very seriously and is taking strong action against the contractors involved. At present, while private cars constitute about 60 per cent of the traffic on national highways, the share of toll revenue from these vehicles is barely 20-26 per cent, he said. Toll charges have increased on highways even as more and more stretches have come under the tolling system over the past 10 years, often leading to rising user discontent.
Toll collection in India
Total toll collection in India touched Rs 64,809.86 crore in 2023-24, a 35 per cent rise over the previous year. The collection was Rs 27,503 crore in 2019-20. All user fee plazas on National Highways are established as per the provision of National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008 and the respective Concession Agreement.
Gadkari expressed confidence that in the current financial year, the highways ministry will surpass the previous record of 37 km per day of highway construction in 2020-21 financial year. Around 7,000 km of highways have been constructed so far in the current financial year. Traditionally, the pace of highway construction is higher in the February-March period. The pace of highway construction in the country has touched a record 37 km per day in the financial year 2020-21.
(With PTI inputs)
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