The toll collections on national highways have improved to Rs 150 crore per day in the first three months this financial year, as compared to the daily average of about Rs 130 crore in the first quarter of 2022-23.
According to data from the ministry of road transport and highways presented in Lok Sabha last week, which was analysed by News18, the average monthly toll collection through FASTags for the first quarter of 2023 stood at Rs 4,406 crore. This is more than the average monthly collection in the previous quarter (January-March 2023), which was Rs 4,083 crore, as well as the first quarter of 2022 (Rs 3,841 crore).
Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari told the House that user fee collection was the highest from heavy commercial vehicles after the implementation of FASTag. “There are 898 toll plazas on national highways as on June 30, 2023. The user fee at a toll plaza on the national highway is levied as per the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008,” he said.
Ministry data shows that toll collection on national highways across India has jumped around three times between 2015-16 and 2022-23. In 2022-23, the user fee collection at toll plazas on national highways was Rs 48,028.22 crore, up from Rs 17,759.12 crore in 2015-16.
In 2022-23, the average daily toll collection stood at Rs 132 crore, an improvement from Rs 93 crore per day during 2021-22. In 2019-20 and 2020-21, these figures were around Rs 75 crore per day.
Why is toll collection increasing every year?
Gadkari said migration from manual toll collection to electronic via FASTag has improved the overall user fee collection. Also, user fee collection increases every year on account of traffic growth, revision in user fee rates, and addition of new tollable road length, he added.
“Moreover, with the declaration of all lanes of toll plazas on national highways as FASTag, compliance of toll collection has improved,” he said.
The minister said at least 112 new toll plazas were started in the last financial year. The FASTag system was introduced first in 2016-17. The conversion of cash lane to FASTag lane has been gradual. All lanes of the toll plaza were enabled with FASTag from February 2021.
“Presently 97.6 percent fee collection happens through FASTag,” Gadkari said.
More than 200 toll plazas within 60-km range
Gadkari also told the House that as on June 30, user fee plazas in the country were within 60 km. “There were two toll plazas within a distance of 10.86 km at Hemjadi and Surathkal on NH66. Surathkal fee plaza has been closed by merging its influence length with Hemjadi fee plaza,” he said.
Fee plazas could be established within a 60-km range of each other as per the provision of sub-rule (2) of Rule 8 of the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, Gadkari said. He added that as per these rules, there was no provision to stop the collection of user fee at toll plazas on national highways.
“The user fee is continued to be collected in perpetuity at the rates stipulated in the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008,” Gadkari said.
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