After scrapping over five dozen toll plazas across the country, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways may widen the list soon and cancel some more such tax collection points at highways.
Stating that making highway transport easier for travellers is a priority, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said, he has advised Ministry officials to identify projects of up to Rs 100 crore investments, where either the cost has been recovered or was about to be recovered and projects where collection of toll has become unviable.
Till date 74 such public funded tolls have been identified and out of those 61 have been shut down, a statement by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.
"Similarly, projects of investment less than Rs 100 crore under PPP are also being identified and ways are being explored to shut down all such toll plazas post-addressing contractual obligations," an official statement said.
Earlier in the day Gadkari at an event here said the government may further cancel toll at around 125 plazas on some highways by the end of this month.
The statement however clarified that the number of toll plazas to be scrapped are only 74.
The electronic toll (e-toll) collection system introduced in the country will help save Rs 88,000 crore and cut waiting time at toll plazas significantly, Gadkari quoting a Transport Corporation of India-IIM Kolkata study said.,
The study said, "Rs 60,000 crore was lost on account of various delays at check posts and electronic toll collection could save Rs 88,000 crore."
The Minister added that out of the 350 toll points on the Mumbai-Delhi route, 140 have been converted into E-toll points. By completion of the e-toll work in the country, this amount of Rs 88,000 crore would be saved.
For implementing ETC across the country, a new company -- Indian Highways Management Company Limited -- has been constituted.
It has equity participation from NHAI (25 per cent), concessionaires (50 per cent) and financial institutions (25 per cent).
Its objectives are collection of toll through ETC System and to manage the project strategically, administratively, legally, technically and commercially.
