Govt working on uniform toll policy to provide relief to commuters on National Highways: Gadkari
The road transport ministry is working on a uniform toll policy to benefit national highway users, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday.
Nitin Gadkari also asserted that now India’s highway infrastructure matches that of the US.
“We are working on a uniform toll policy. It will address the problem faced by the commuters,” he told PTI in an interview, without elaborating further.
Gadkari 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.
The longest-serving road transport and highways minister said that the ministry has decided to initially implement a barrier-less global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-based toll collection system on national highways.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Gadkari said, has been taking the complaints made by commuters on social media very seriously and is taking strong action against 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.
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.
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.