NEW DELHI: The Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday raised concerns over a potential revenue loss following the Supreme Court’s intervention in the Corporation’s toll operations.
Toll tax is one of the MCD’s biggest revenue sources, with annual collections estimated at around Rs 900 crore. Committee members cautioned that any move to discontinue toll collection without a viable alternative could destabilise the Corporation’s finances and adversely impact civic services across the capital.
Raising the issue, BJP councillor Rajpal Singh said scrapping toll tax without an alternative revenue mechanism would put immense financial pressure on the MCD. He warned that a sharp decline in revenue would directly affect the Corporation’s ability to maintain civic infrastructure.
The concerns were discussed in the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s observations on toll operations, particularly regarding traffic congestion at toll plazas. On December 19, 2025, this newspaper had reported on the feasibility of the apex court’s suggestion to the MCD to consider shutting toll plazas during peak pollution periods to ease congestion and reduce emissions.
However, members noted that such a move would be difficult, as a significant portion of the MCD’s finances depends on toll collections.
In December 2025, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had also asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to explore shifting nine MCD toll plazas at Delhi’s entry points to locations under NHAI supervision.
Ground checks by this newspaper found that most toll plazas in border areas are already preceded by police check posts conducting pollution-related inspections. Vehicles entering Delhi from NCR towns were being turned back if found non-compliant with emission norms, raising questions about the practicality of shutting toll plazas. During the meeting, Singh also questioned accountability in toll management, asking who would be responsible for engineering failures, traffic congestion and operational inefficiencies.
“Despite raising these issues in earlier Standing Committee meetings, I have received no concrete response or corrective action plan,” he said.
Responding, a senior MCD official clarified that there is currently no directive from the Supreme Court to remove toll tax in Delhi. The official said the Corporation is in the process of finalising a new toll tender with advanced technology.
Additional Commissioner of the MCD’s Toll Tax Department, Swetika Sacchan, told the committee that the matter is being examined by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). An inter-departmental committee is analysing traffic congestion, stoppage time at toll plazas and structural bottlenecks.
She added that the upcoming toll tender will include multi-lane free-flow systems, RFID-based toll collection and automated number plate recognition to reduce congestion while safeguarding revenue.