Toll fares on national highways go down marginally
In August, NHAI’s executive committee approved revising the WPI linking factor from 1.641 to 1.561 to recalibrate user fee rates.
Porur toll plaza
CHENNAI: In relief for motorists, especially transport vehicles, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has reduced toll rates for both public-funded and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) road projects, following a revision of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) linking factor.
In August, NHAI’s executive committee approved revising the WPI linking factor from 1.641 to 1.561 to recalibrate user fee rates. A senior official said the revision has come into effect from October 1 after the notification was issued.
The reductions range from Rs 5 to Rs 30 across vehicle categories and plazas. While single car trips may see negligible change due to rounding to the nearest multiple of Rs 5, return journeys and larger vehicles may benefit from reductions up to 5%. Tamil Nadu has 80 toll plazas on the national highways.
At the Surapattu toll plaza on the Chennai Bypass, the toll for a single car journey remains Rs 75, while the return trip fee has been reduced to Rs 110 from Rs 115. For vehicles with more than seven axles, the single-trip rate has gone down to Rs 475 from Rs 490, and the return trip charge has dropped to Rs 710 from Rs 730.
At Boothakudi and Chittampatti toll plazas on the Tiruchy-Madurai stretch of NH 45B, the user fee is down by at least Rs 5 for cars, bringing it to Rs 105 for a single journey, and by Rs 20 for big vehicles. For return journeys, the reduction ranges from Rs 5 to Rs 30 for various classes of vehicles.
The NHAI circular notes that this adjustment is based on updated data provided by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), which recommended the revised linking factor of 1.561 to more accurately convert WPI figures from the base year 2011–12 to 2004–05.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Thursday orally directed NHAI to refrain from taking coercive steps regarding the circular. The bench was hearing petitions filed by the Highway Operators Association (HOAI) and Roadstar Infra Investment Trust (RIIT), which challenged the September 13 circular, claiming the revised policy could lead to losses of Rs 4,000 crore.