Toll rates increased 250 per cent in last nine years
CHENNAI: With the increase in toll rates by 5 to 10 per cent from September 1 at 14 toll plazas in Tamil Nadu, the average toll rate has gone up by 2.5 times (250 pc) in the last nine years. This means that the toll rate of a car, which was charged at 40 paise in 2009, has increased to Rs 1.08 in 2018, reveals the official documents. According to an official notification of the National Highways Authority India, a car user is charged Rs 80 at the Vikravandi toll plaza to cover 72.9 km on the Tindivanam-Ulundurpet road. So far, four-wheelers have been charged Rs 75. On an average, the car user pays Rs 1.09 per km for using the National Highways road.
Similarly, a light commercial vehicle, which passes the Ponnambalapatti toll plaza covering 82.27 km on the Tiruchy-Dindigul Road, has to cough out Rs 165 as against the present fare of Rs Rs 160. The vehicle is charged Rs 2.02 per km. The average toll rate of bus and multi-axle vehicles has risen to Rs 3.8 and Rs 6 per km respectively.
With the increasing growth of vehicles in Tamil Nadu, the toll collections continue to be on the upswing trend throughout the year. Besides, despite the complaints of delay in widening the roads and poor maintenance, the NHAI continues to allow toll plazas to increase the toll rates once a year.Even though the widening works of the Chennai-Tada Road are yet to be completed, the user fee has increased befitting the six lanes. According to an RTI reply sought by Express, the Vijayamangalam toll plaza handles about 80,413 vehicles a day with an average toll collection of Rs 19.47 lakh. However, the road was designed to handle only about 40,000 vehicles a day.
R Sukumar, president, Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners Federation (TNLOF), said that in spite of collecting crores of money, toll plazas had not adequately been provided with necessary infrastructure. “The rampant violations in loading the vehicles are leading to road damage as result of which trucks frequently meet with accidents. A majority of toll gates in Tamil Nadu are yet to get the weighing machines,” said Sukumar, adding that he questioned the rationale behind the NHAI’s decision to increase toll rates without taking the vehicles growth into an account.
“When the toll collection increases every year, why should the toll rates be increased?,” he said.The total length of the National Highway roads in Tamil Nadu is about 5,324 km, out of which 3,285-km roads are maintained by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), while about 2,039 km roads are maintained by the National Highways wing of the state government. Of the 42 toll plazas in the state, 20 toll plaza increased rates in April this year.