NHAI defers toll fee hike on highways and expressways till after Lok Sabha polls
If you are planning to hit the highways before June 1, toll fees across highways and expressways will continue at old rates. In a relief to lakhs of commuters who pay toll for every day commute, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has deferred implementation of new toll fees. The proposed toll fee hike by NHAI, which was scheduled to be implemented on April 1 after annual revision, has been put on hold on request of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The NHAI has already informed toll plazas across India to continue charging toll fees from motorists at old rates.
On Monday, the ECI urged NHAI to hold the revised toll fee rates until the Lok Sabha Elections are over. The polls start from April 19 and ends on June 1. However, the ECI has asked the NHAI to continue calculation of new toll fee rates for highways and expressways. NHAI revises the toll fee rates every year based on changes to wholesale price index based inflation.. It was expected to go up by around five per cent from April 1. While new toll fee rates for some of the expressways were already revealed, NHAI has not yet shared full list of toll fee hikes.
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The ECI intervened in the NHAI's annual practice to revise toll fees while responding to a communication it received from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). A senior official at the ECI was quoted by news agency Reuters, saying, ""The revision of user fee (toll) rates with effect from April 1 has been put on hold after taking permission from the Election Commission."
Also Read : Satellite-based toll collection to replace toll plazas soon: Nitin Gadkari.
Earlier, some of the highway operators had revealed changes in the existing toll fee rates from April 1. The new toll fee rates, which range between three to five per cent, were shared through newspapers. NHAI operates around 855 toll plazas on national highways. It charges toll fees on commuters based on the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. NHAI collected more than ₹54,000 crore through toll fees in FY 2022-23.
