KOCHI: At a time when toll collection on Container Road in Kochi is making headlines, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced special toll rates for vehicles registered in the Ernakulam district.
Toll collection on Container Road was suspended temporarily following protests from various quarters. The notification on toll collection, issued by the NHAI on June 16, 2015, allows discount of upto 50 per cent for vehicles registered in the Ernakulam district.The applicable rates for such vehicles are: light motor vehicle-Rs 20, light commercial vehicle-Rs 35, bus/truck-Rs 70, three-axle commercial vehicle-Rs 80, multi-axle vehicle-Rs 115 and oversized vehicle-Rs 140. The toll rates for vehicles registered in the other districts are between Rs 45 and Rs 275 range. According to the notification, cost of the monthly pass applicable to local non-commercial vehicles for the year 2015-16 is Rs 230. In a letter sent to Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) had stated that the NHAI’s decision to levy toll on vehicles, especially those carrying EXIM containers, would lead to increase in the cost of exports/imports through the Cochin Port.
“The toll rates prescribed by the NHAI are exorbitant. Secondly, the move is premature, given the fact that the road is still being developed,” stated the letter.