CHENNAI: Motorists by way of toll fee had so far paid over twice the amount of money the government actually spent on building the four-lane road between Tambaram and Tindivanam. But the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) says still it has to collect `354 crore more before it can reduce the toll fee on the highly-congested highway stretch.
After a series of RTI applications and appeals by Express, the authority has replied that from April 1, 2005 to September 30, 2018 it collected a total of `1,098 crore as user fee at Athur and Paranur toll gates — the only two toll collection points on the 103.5 km-long stretch. This is more than twice the `536 crore spent by the union government to build this road. Ideally, once the project cost is recovered the toll fee would be reduced and only a nominal fee necessary for maintenance of the road would be collected from the road users. However, the authority says it needs to collect another `354 crore before it can reduce the toll fee.
How? In 2013, the union government revised the formula for estimation of the project cost and toll collection in a way that lorry owners termed as “perpetually favouring the contractors”. Since this road was built with public money, lorry owners say the government is unjustified in trying to recover a rate of return similar to profit-minded private enterprises. The construction of the four-lane highway was carried out between 1999 and 2004. As per the RTI replies by NHAI, the cost of the construction was `536 crore, funded by the union government. This stretch has since become a lifeline between Chennai and southern parts of the state.
Rs 354 crore more to be paid to cut user fee by 60%: NHAI
While Chennai-Tindivanam Highway was designed to carry 35,000 vehicles a day, it now carries an average of 95,000 vehicles a day. The high traffic means the toll collection too shot up and the RTI reply given by NHAI says it has collected Rs 1,098 crore since it started. When Express asked how the cost of the project -- Rs 536 crore -- had still not been recovered despite the high collections, NHAI said it makes the calculations based on a memorandum issued on January 24, 2013, by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Until this memorandum was passed, only four per cent of toll revenues was deducted for maintenance and the rest of the amount was fully adjusted towards project cost in all public-funded projects. But as per this 2013 memorandum, the cost of the project is calculated by indexing the amount spent with the Wholesale Price Index in the intervening period between the commencement and the completion of the project. By this method, the road project cost is arrived at Rs 770.18 crore, against the actual expense of Rs 536 crore. But even this is still less than the Rs 1098 crore paid by motorists till last September. However, the union government’s memorandum also has a formula to depreciate toll collection. It says of the net toll collection, the operational costs must be deducted and after that 12 per cent of it should be discounted before the amount could be tallied towards initial investment. By this method, the toll collection of Rs 1,098 crore would actually be assumed to compensate only for Rs 416.04 crore of the initial investment of Rs 770.18 crore (as per the 2013 formula) made by the union government.
The RTI reply given by P T Mohan, Project director, NHAI (Kancheepuram), read, “An amount of Rs 354 cr had to be recovered to realise the complete project so as to reduce the user fee by 60 per cent as per the provisions of NH act.” Besides this, the RTI reply from NHAI said, “Any additional expenses incurred by contractor for building bridges, subways and widening of NH roads will be included in the project cost, accordingly user fee collection will be continued.” As per the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008 only 40 per cent of existing user fee should be collected at toll gates after realisation of the project cost.R Sukumar, president, TN Lorry Owners Federation said such a toll collection formula is “one of most fraudulent system in the world.”
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