NHAI fee hike may take a toll on motorists

Fee will go up by 10% at 24 booths on national highways running through Tamil Nadu from April 1
Toll fee to be hiked from April 1 | Martin Louis
Toll fee to be hiked from April 1 | Martin Louis

CHENNAI: The annual hike in toll fees on national highways is likely to jack up the already-soaring prices of essential commodities, making life even harder for the ordinary individual. The fee will go up by 10 per cent at 24 toll gates on national highways running through the State from April 1, according to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). This translates to a hike of Rs 5-Rs 120 a trip, depending on the category of the vehicle.

“Additional expenses incurred due to the increase in toll fee will be transferred to consumers in the form of higher prices of commodities such as vegetables, fruits and groceries,” said AM Vikrama Raja, President of Federation of Tamil Nadu Traders’ Association. Traders and manufacturers, who, till now, spent Rs 1,000 towards toll fees will now have to spend Rs 1,200-1,250. “The additional Rs 200-250 will be added to the actual cost of the product,” he added.

While toll rate for cars, vans, and jeeps were hiked by 10 per cent at 22 toll gates, it’s 40 per cent at Nallur toll gate on Chennai-Tada/Kolkata NH 5 and 16 per cent at Surapattu toll gate on Chennai Bypass. “Since April 2020, only 75 per cent of user fee was being collected at Nallur toll plaza owing to a delay in the construction of a six-lane elevated bridge at Karanodai near Sholavaram.

‘Now, however, the entire stretch is six-lane, and 100 per cent user fee will be collected (in addition to the hike),” said an NHAI official. The toll-fee rate for cars/jeeps will be increased to Rs 70 from Rs 50. Similarly, three-axle lorries will have to spend Rs 265 instead of Rs 195. However, toll fee at Nemili (Sriperumbudur) and Chennasamudram (Walajah) toll plazas on Chennai-Bengaluru bypass will not be increased, said NHAI officials.

The user fee was last revised on April 1, 2020, but the Madras High Court, in December 2020, slashed user fees by 50 per cent in the two toll plazas citing poor maintenance of NH between Maduvavoyal and Walajah. A few months ago, the court allowed the NHAI to collect full fee. As per the NHAI norms, even before the court order, only 75 per cent of the user fee was being collected from Nemili and Chennasamudram toll gates, added the officials.

It may be recalled that Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed Lok Sabha on March 22 that toll gates located within 60km of the nearest ones will be removed within the next three months. Asked for an update on this matter, an NHAI official said: “We are yet to receive guidelines to identify the toll gates to be shut.”

BASE FOR THE HIKE
Toll fee hike based on wholesale price index (WPI) under the provisions of NH Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. Of the 48 toll gates, the fee is revised for 26 on April 1 and the rest of the toll gates on September 1 every year

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