New Delhi: In a major relief for commuters, the central government has revised toll charges on national highways, reducing them by up to 50% on stretches that have significant elevated structures such as tunnels, bridges, flyovers, or viaducts. The move is aimed at correcting what officials called a “disproportionate toll burden” for road users, particularly on recently constructed infrastructure-heavy corridors.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways notified the amendment to the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, to rationalise toll computation in cases where the costliest components—such as elevated roads or tunnels—dominate the highway stretch, reported The Hindu.
Under the new rules, toll will now be calculated based on the lesser of two formulas:
- Ten times the length of structures (bridges, tunnels, flyovers) plus the length of the remaining highway stretch, or
- Five times the total length of the stretch, irrespective of the type of construction.
The previous system charged tenfold toll on structures, which, in the case of long elevated stretches, led to significantly higher toll rates. “In such cases, even though the road length was 30 km, toll was being collected equivalent to 300 km, which was proving very expensive for the commuters,” a senior government official told The Hindu.
The new formula could potentially halve the toll on such stretches. For instance, on a 30-km highway where the entire length is composed of bridges or elevated roads, the older rule charged for 300 km (10×30), while the revised rule limits the tollable length to 150 km (5×30).
Officials clarified that this revision will apply to all toll plazas where the majority of the road consists of structures and will take effect from the next scheduled toll revision. For new projects, the rule will be effective immediately. However, toll plazas operating under existing concession agreements will continue with the older toll structure until those contracts expire.
The move is expected to particularly benefit commuters on structure-heavy expressways such as the Dwarka Expressway and the Delhi–Dehradun elevated corridor. According to ministry estimates, this rationalisation could reduce the toll burden on some roads by 40-50%.
The government’s decision comes in the wake of growing criticism from road users about high toll rates on newly inaugurated expressways, many of which are designed as elevated corridors due to land constraints. With this change, the ministry aims to strike a balance between cost recovery and fair pricing for users.
