Road developers in the country will be allowed to charge only 75 per cent toll during the work on six-laning of highway stretches. This was decided by the Union Cabinet last week. To ensure that developers don’t delay construction, the Union government also allowed tolling to be suspended for failure to meet the deadline.
This provision will put pressure on both private road developers and government agencies such as National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and state PWDs to provide encumbrance free land and get statutory clearances for project development.
An official concerned said that the party responsible for default will have to pay/bear the damage. Why should the government allow people to suffer traffic jams and also pay toll charges, the official said.
The government’s act will bring relief to lakhs of commuters on over 2,000 km of national highways which are scheduled to be taken up for widening from four-lane to six-lane in the near future.
The government has also decided to bring more highways under the toll network. Tolling will be allowed on all future two-and-a-half lane roads (10 metres wide). Officials said the proposal is aimed to generate funds to keep roads in good condition.
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