Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Confirms No Toll Exemptions for Long Queues or Wait Times at National Highway Plazas

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has clarified that there are no provisions for toll fee exemptions based on queue length or waiting times at plazas on National Highways (NHs). The Ministry also confirmed that fee plazas within a 60-km range of each other are permissible under current regulations.

In two separate replies in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari addressed these exceptions, bringing clarity to the rules governing toll collection on NHs.

Saharanpur MP Imran Masood inquired whether the government was aware that commuters on the Chandigarh-Dehradun NH-73 route were being charged tolls despite the distance between toll plazas on both sides of the Sarsawa toll plaza being less than 60 kilometers. Gadkari responded, stating, “Fee plazas functioning within a 60 km range are also permissible as per the provisions of the NH Fee Rules and Concession Agreement. User fee is collected at Sarsawa user fee plaza on Chandigarh-Dehradun NH-73 as per the user fee Notification No. 3217 (E) dated 22nd September 2020 published in the Gazette of India in terms of the provision of NH Fee Rule.”

An old video of Gadkari from March 2022 had resurfaced, where he assured that there would be only one toll plaza within a 60-km range and any additional ones would be shut down within three months. However, his recent reply in the Lok Sabha contradicts this, stating no such exemption exists.

Masood further asked if the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was planning to close the second toll plaza, to which Gadkari replied that there was no need.

In another response, Gadkari stated that fee plazas on NHs are established according to the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, which stipulate that no other fee plaza on the same section of the NH and in the same direction shall be established within a distance of 60 kilometers unless deemed necessary by the executing authority. This decision must be documented in writing.

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“A fee plaza may also be established within a distance of 60 kilometers from another fee plaza if it is for the collection of fees for a permanent bridge, bypass, or tunnel. The distance criteria of 60 kilometers for establishing a fee plaza came into existence after the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, and there was no such criterion in the earlier National Highways Fee Rules, 1997,” Gadkari told the House.

Additionally, Gadkari mentioned that in the case of a closed user fee collection system, fee plazas can be established anywhere on NHs. “Fee plazas functioning within a 60 km range are also permissible and established as per the provisions of the NH Fee Rules and Concession Agreement,” he added.

Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal asked whether the NHAI had issued guidelines for designing new toll plazas to lift the boom barrier for free flow of traffic if vehicle queues exceed 100 meters during peak hours. Gadkari responded, “There is no such provision of exempting vehicles from user fees in case the vehicles are stopped beyond a stipulated distance/certain time limit at fee plazas on National Highways (NHs) as per extant fee rules.”

Gadkari highlighted the mandatory implementation of FASTag in all lanes from February 16, 2021, stating that an impact assessment study conducted by NHAI found that average waiting times at fee plazas had reduced from 734 seconds to 47 seconds for the financial year 2022.

However, in May 2021, NHAI had issued a statement with guidelines to ensure minimal waiting times at toll plazas, aiming for a service time of no more than 10 seconds per vehicle even during peak hours. The statement also mentioned that vehicles would be allowed to pass without paying tolls if queues extended beyond 100 meters from the toll booth, marked by a yellow line in each toll lane to ensure accountability from toll plaza operators.

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