Stakeholders sceptical of poll promise on toll plaza removal

Both the AIADMK and the DMK, in their manifestos, have said that they would urge the Centre to abolish toll collection on NHs. While the former justified it by stating that there were alleged irregularities in toll collections, the principal opposition party said toll should not be collected wherever the concession period has expired. Of the 494 toll plazas in the country, 45 are in Tamil Nadu. Effective from April 1, the toll fee had been revised by Rs 5 to Rs 15 at 20 toll plazas in the state.

Dismissing the promises as a poll gimmick, R Sugumar, president of Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners’ Federation, said the move to remove toll plazas is not practical.

“There are several legal hurdles in the issue. Most of the NH projects were funded by the World Bank and the loan tenure varies between 20 and 25 years. It is not possible to close the toll plazas no matter which government comes to power at the Centre,” he said, adding that it was during DMK leader T R Baalu’s tenure as Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways (2004-09) that the National Highways (Rate of Fee) Rules was amended to reduce the distance between two plazas from 80 to 40 km. “The All India Motor Transport Congress had then held a nationwide strike in protest against Baalu’s move,” he recalled.

Experts in the transportation sector also agreed with him, arguing that the Centre could only take a policy decision on new toll plazas and not existing ones. “Closing existing toll plazas will not be possible as it would only lead to court cases,” an Anna University professor said.

Sugumar suggested that the Centre could collect an annual toll fee like the national permit issued to goods carriers. “This would allow the government to compensate for the loss sustained by not collecting toll fees. Moreover, public transportation and private vehicles could be exempted. This will also ease traffic snarls at the toll plazas,” he said.