National Highway Authority of India is likely to increase the toll rates starting from April 1 which will lead to higher costs for people travelling through National Highways (NHs) and Expressways.

According to reports, the toll tax will increase from 5% to 10%.

As per the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, the fee rates are supposed to be revised every year w.e.f April 1. The Ministry of Road Transport will look into the proposals by the end of this month, and will approve the rates after due consideration.

The toll rates for cars and light vehicles are expected to rise by 5%, while for heavy vehicles, the toll tax may hike up to 10%.

Currently, about 20,000 vehicles travel on the expressway every day and this is expected to  increase to 50K to 60K in the next six months.

Apart from this, the monthly pass facility provision given to the people living in the area of 20 kilometers of the toll plaza is also likely to increase by 10%. The price of the pass is usually cheaper.

As per National Highways Fee Rules 2008, there is no such provision for exemption to persons residing within a certain radius of user fee plaza. However, the facility of monthly pass at the rate of ?315 per month for the financial year 2022-23 for unlimited trips though a fee plaza is available to a person owning a vehicle registered for non commercial purposes and residing within 20 kilometers from the fee plaza as per the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, provided a service road or alternative road is not available for use. In addition, this provision is not applicable in case of closed user fee collection system.

NHAI's move to increase the toll rates aims to increase the revenue and at the same time, provide better maintenance and operation services to road users. However, the move is likely to be opposed by a few sections of the society including opposition parties.

Earlier, it was reported that the central government is soon going to replace the toll plazas with cameras that read number plates.

Infact, reportedly in an interview, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari revealed that the union ministry of road transport and highways was planning to eliminate all toll plazas on national highways and rely on Automatic Number Plate Reader (ANPR) cameras.

Source- mint