Good news! Free ride for private vehicles on highways

Giving relief to commuters, the road transport ministry is considering a proposal that promises to make journeys on highways more easy and free of cost. Private buses and vehicles may be exempted from paying toll on highways in their districts if the government accepts the proposal.

But how would the government balance the revenue loss on account of this exemption? According to the proposal, it can increase the toll tax on commercial vehicles or it could pitch into compensate for the amount forgone.

The proposal came in the wake of data released by the road ministry that said personal vehicles comprise half of the overall traffic on highways but contribute only 14% to the toll kitty. In 2013, only Rs 1,600 crore of the total toll of Rs 11,400 crore came from personal vehicles.

Meanwhile, the toll collection has other problems such as overcharging and undercharging. Complaints of non-reporting and under reporting of the toll fee by agents are also rampant.

"We are toying with various ideas not just to give some benefit to the users but also compensate for the loss in toll," a top ministry official told the Economic Times.

According to Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, the government cannot do away with toll entirely and would try to work out a mechanism that will benefit all.

Moreover, a Transport Corporation of India-IIM Calcutta study said that the removal of toll plazas along with a pan-India electronic toll collection system on the national highways might save the country Rs 88,000 crore.

Some experts are not happy with the idea of removing the toll and its implication on the public-private partnership projects. "Policies have to be made for future. Fewer private vehicles are using the highway because roads are not good and there are other options available, unlike in the case of commercial vehicles," said Jaijit Bhattacharya, partner-infrastructure and government services at KPMG India.

The government had scrapped 61 toll plazas which had become unviable or recovered the cost completely.

The Indian Highways Management Company is implementing the ETC on a pan-India level and providing services including toll transaction clearing house operations, helpdesk support and setting up of call centres for Incident Management and Intelligent Transport Systems.

(Image: Indiatimes)