North leads in highway toll

Region may contribute 55% of the total revenue expected in 2004-05

Northern India has been the top revenue generator for the National Highway Authority of India, accounting for 55 per cent of the Rs 431.7 crore of toll collection expected for the current year. In terms of per kilometre yields, however, western India leads.

The latest data on the toll collection of the NHAI reveal that the western region is estimated to earn Rs 31.62 lakh per km this year, while for the north the annual yield is expected to be Rs 28.85 lakh per km. The west, however, accounts for 21 per cent of the total length under toll.

The south too is expected to manage a healthy per km collection of Rs 25.5 lakh, but it accounts for only 1 per cent of the 1,511 km under toll. Its total collection at Rs 5.14 crore would be 12 per cent of the expected collection.

" Revenue projections for North are the highest because most of these stretches would be tolled for the whole year. Take for instance, the Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi Agra stretch, which has the highest density of traffic at present, has been tolled for more than a year now," an NHAI official said.

Stretches in other regions, however, became operational during the year, he said. This meant that the projections were not for 12 months of the year, he added.

The north will gross Rs 23.97 crore this fiscal, because it has the three most high-yielding stretches "" Panipat-Ambala, Gurgaon-Kotputli, and Kotputli-Jaipur.

The western region, with a collection of Rs 10.8 crore against it and a share of 25 per cent in the total collection, has the 83-km Vadodra-Baruch stretch as its top earner, with a daily average earning of Rs 7 lakh.

The 57.4-km Kajali-Manor and the 63-km Manor-Dahisar stretches are the other two high-earning stretches, with a daily average earning of Rs 7 lakh. The three together are estimated to contribute Rs 7.5 crore in the toll collection for the year.

The eastern region is lagging behind with only two stretches, both in Orissa, under toll ""Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Jagatpur and Jagatpur-Chandikhole.

The authority has targeted an annual earning of Rs 15,000 crore a year, once all stretches are brought under toll.