Three-axle trucks to be charged Rs 1 less toll, truckers’ body calls off strike.
The road transport ministry has agreed to pay a heavy price to stop truckers from going on a strike by announcing a cut in toll rates for three-axle trucks by Rs 1 to Rs 2.40 per km. The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has withdrawan the planned strike from Decemer 5.
The cut will have a big impact on the government’s toll collections, as a majority of trucks on the road are three-axle trucks. “In an agreement with AIMTC, we have decided to create a new rate slab for three-axle trucks, which will be 10 per cent more than two-axle trucks and Rs 1 less than the earlier rate. AIMTC has decided to withdraw the strike,” said Road Transport Minister Kamal Nath.
Till now, there were three slabs for trucks —two-axle, three-five axles and six-axle and above. The rate would apply to all public-private partnership (PPP) projects signed in the future but apply immediately to all public-funded toll roads, Nath added.
Toll earned from public-funded plazas goes to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which had collected around Rs 2,000 crore last financial year.
With this, NHAI’s aim to increase collections by around 10 per cent by the end of the current financial year will take a beating. “Our toll revenues will be substantially impacted with this decision, as over 80 per cent trucks in this category (three-five axle) have three axles. But we have not estimated the total cost yet,” said a senior NHAI official who did not want to be identified.
It was also decided that toll rates on all road projects built under the PPP model would be brought down by 60 per cent after the concession period. The fee will only be charged for maintenance and development at a rate which will be 40 per cent of what is applicable at the time of the end of the concession period.
It was also decided that vehicles plying on the intra-district route would have to pay 50 per cent less. A proposal to charge less from empty trucks was not accepted. Various other issues which could not be discussed in today’s meeting would be taken in the coming four months. The issues include provisioning of service roads and highway facilities for trucks.
