CHENNAI: The NHAI officials in Chennai have clarified that subsidised monthly passes costing Rs 320-Rs 340 have already been available for the past several years for the residents living within 20 km of toll plazas on the Chennai bypass and other national highways at Nallur, Sriperumpudur, Paranur and other places outside the city. Commercial vehicles registered within 20-km radius can cross the plazas by paying just 50% of the toll fee and can also purchase a monthly pass at 66% of the toll rate, which permits 50 single trips per month.
In response to protests by residents in Thirumangalam in Madurai, against the user fee collected at Kappalur toll plaza for commercial vehicles, the state had recently held multiple meetings with NHAI officials in the Madurai region. They requested that the subsidised monthly pass for personal vehicles be extended to commercial vehicles registered within the district.
Meanwhile, the local residents picketed the road, blocking vehicular traffic for several hours, alleging the Kappalur plaza was established in violation of NH rules and demanded its closure. Following these developments, the chief secretary held a meeting with the NHAI Chairman in Chennai on July 18 and urged him to reinstate the concessions that local vehicles benefitted from prior to 2020, according to an official state government note.
However, a senior official from the NHAI regional office in Chennai told TNIE that they had not received specific requests from the state government to reduce toll fees for commercial vehicles registered within the district or a 20 km radius of the toll plaza. “The toll rates are fixed as per the concessionaire agreement and cannot be altered for one or two plazas. The toll plazas cannot deny monthly passes to those who meet the criteria specified,” the official stated.
According to the NH Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, whiteboard and commercial vehicles registered within a 20-km radius in Chennai and outside were given monthly passes ranging from Rs 180 to Rs 300. However, since April 2019, the monthly pass was limited to non-commercial vehicles, and yellowboard vehicles were charged 50% of the designated toll fee.