According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), there is no provision for exemption from tolls in case of queuing beyond the stipulated distance or waiting beyond a certain time limit at plazas on National Highways (NH). The Ministry of Transport also said that as per regulations, toll plazas operating within a 60-km radius are also allowed.
The two exceptions were clarified by the Union Minister in two separate replies in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Saharanpur MP Imran Masood asked Gadkari if the government was aware that commuters on the Chandigarh-Dehradun NH-73 route were forced to pay excessive tolls despite tolls being charged on both sides of Sarsawa toll plaza The distance between stations is less than 60 kilometers.
Gadkari responded, “Toll plazas operating within 60 kilometers are also allowed as per the provisions of NH Toll Rules and Concession Agreement. As per Regulation 3217 of the Gazette of India dated September 22, 2020 regarding the provisions of NH Toll Rules ( User Charge Notification No. E), user charges are collected at Sarsawa User Charge Plaza, NH-73, Chandigarh-Dehradun.
Earlier this week, an old video of Gadkari from March 2022 went viral on the Internet, in which he said that he would ensure that there is only one toll plaza within 60 kilometers, and if a second toll plaza exists, it will be opened in the next three Closed within the month. However, the Lok Sabha reply on Thursday rejected any such exemption.
We will provide passes to locals living near toll plazas and holding Aadhaar cards. Also, I ensure that there is only one toll plaza within 60 km and if there is a second toll plaza, then it will be closed in the next 3 months: Nitin Gadkari, Union Road and Transport Minister, Lok Sabha pic.twitter.com/PQbAllL8nEk— ANI (@ANI) March 22, 2022
Masood also asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) if it planned to close the second toll plaza, but the minister replied that “the need will not arise”.
In another reply, Gadkari also said that toll plazas are set up on national highways as per the National Highway Tolls (Determination and Collection of Rates) Rules, 2008, which stipulates that toll plazas on the same section of national highways and highways No toll plaza in the same direction shall be established within 60 kilometers of any other toll plaza on the same road. However, when the executive authority deems it necessary, it may establish or allow the concessionaire to establish another toll plaza within 60 kilometers for reasons recorded in writing.
“If a toll plaza is used to collect tolls on a permanent bridge, bypass or tunnel, a toll plaza can also be established within 60 kilometers of another toll plaza. The distance standard for establishing toll plazas is 60 kilometers, which was introduced in 2008 The National Road Charges (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules were formulated after that and there was no such standard in the earlier National Road Charges Rules 1997.
Besides, if the user toll system is closed, toll plazas can be established anywhere on the national highways, he said. “Toll plazas operating within a 60-km radius are also allowed as per the provisions of NH toll rules and concession agreement,” Gadkari added.
In another question, Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal asked Gadkari whether the NHAI has issued guidelines for designing new toll plazas to accommodate vehicles on specific lanes during peak hours When the queue exceeds 100 meters from the toll station, the guardrail of the lane will be lifted and traffic can pass freely without tolls until the queue reaches 100 meters again. In addition, a yellow line will be drawn on each toll lane 100 meters away from the toll station and displayed to users in a conspicuous position.
Replying to the question, Gadkari said, “As per the existing toll rules, there is no provision for exemption from vehicle usage charges if the vehicle is parked beyond the stipulated distance/certain time limit at the toll plazas of the National Highways (NH)”.
He added that following the mandatory implementation of FASTag in all lanes on February 16, 2021, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) through consultants conducted an impact assessment study on the FASTag system.
“The above findings indicate that the average waiting time at toll plazas has reduced from 734 seconds to 47 seconds in fiscal year 2022,” he said.
However, in May 2021, NHAI issued a statement saying that NHAI has issued guidelines to ensure minimum waiting time at toll plazas. The goal is to ensure that the service time of each vehicle at national highway toll plazas does not exceed 10 seconds even during peak hours.
“The new guidelines will also not allow vehicles to queue beyond 100 meters, thereby ensuring smooth flow of traffic at toll plazas. Although there is no waiting time after mandating 100% FASTag at most toll plazas, but even then, if for some reason vehicles are waiting in queue Beyond 100 meters, vehicles will be allowed to pass without paying tolls.
To this end, each toll lane will be marked with a yellow line 100 meters from the toll plaza, it added. “This is to further instil a sense of responsibility among toll plaza operators,” the statement added.
