Parliamentary panel flags major concerns over toll collection on national highways

The committee also expressed concern over instances of unauthorised toll collection by private individuals who illegally diverted traffic and collected tolls without any authority. (Representative Image)

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Congress MP KC Venugopal, has highlighted serious concerns over the transparency and fairness of the country’s tolling regime.

The panel also raised alarm over the practice of perpetual tolling, which was made possible through an amendment to the Fee Rules in 2008 and further formalised in 2023.

Perpetual tolling allows continued collection of tolls even after the recovery of project costs and the end of the concession period. Though tolls collected are credited to the Consolidated Fund of India, the PAC noted that there is no institutional mechanism to assess whether such toll charges are justified in relation to actual operation, maintenance costs, or future service requirements.

In its latest report on the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the PAC observed that toll is being collected on several National Highway stretches that are incomplete or are partly closed due to maintenance.

Calling for strict monitoring by MoRTH and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the panel suggested imposition of strong penalties on contractors or concessionaires, where toll was collected in this manner.

The panel reasoned that toll rates be substantially reduced once capital and routine maintenance costs have been recovered, and that any continuation of tolls must be justified and approved by an independent oversight authority.

The PAC found it unacceptable that tolls continue to be charged on roads that are incomplete or deficient in safety and traffic flow, calling this a violation of the user-pay principle enshrined in Section 7 of the National Highways Act, 1956, and fair commercial conduct mandated under Section 10 of the NHAI Act, 1988.

The committee also expressed concern over instances of unauthorised toll collection by private individuals who illegally diverted traffic and collected tolls without any authority.

While legal action was initiated in one such case, the PAC highlighted systemic enforcement failures and recommended the use of GPS-based mapping, geofencing, CCTV and drone surveillance, and regular joint inspections to prevent such incidents.