NEW DELHI: India will increase road tolls across the country by 3-5% beginning Monday, officials announced, after putting the annual increase on hold in April due to the country’s general elections.
India modifies toll rates annually to account for inflation. Beginning on Monday, about 1,100 toll plazas will see increases of 3% to 5%, as reported by highway operators in local publications.
A high-ranking official at the National Highways Authority of India told Reuters that “the change in user fee rates, which was put on hold during the elections, would become applicable on June 3” now that the election process is over.
According to the official, rising gasoline product taxes and tolls help fund the development of new national highways. However, opposition parties and a large number of drivers object to annual increases in fees, saying that they burden commuters and raise the cost of transporting necessities.
The toll increases will be beneficial to high-end operators like Ashok Buildcon Ltd. and IRB Infrastructure Developers.
With billions of dollars invested over the past ten years, India now has the second-largest road network in the world, extending over 146,000 kilometers.
In the fiscal year 2022-2023, road traffic increased to 252 billion rupees, and the number of toll plazas and charges also increased, contributing to the toll income’s rapid increase.
By Ashiya Qureshi
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