Chennai, 11 October (H.S.) : In a move providing marginal relief to motorists, particularly transport vehicle operators, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has reduced toll rates across both public-funded and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) national highway projects. The revision in user fees came into effect from October 1st. The reduction, which varies from ₹5 to ₹30 depending on the vehicle category and specific toll plaza, follows a major policy recalibration by the authority.

This adjustment was initiated after the NHAI's executive committee approved a revision of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) linking factor, changing it from 1.641 to 1.561. A senior official stated that the recalibration aims to adjust user fee rates more accurately. The NHAI circular notes that this updated linking factor is based on fresh data provided by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA) to better convert WPI figures from the 2011–12 base year to the 2004–05 base.

While the impact on single car trips may be negligible due to rounding, larger vehicles and return journey commuters stand to benefit most, with reductions reaching up to 5%. For example, at the Surapattu toll plaza on the Chennai Bypass, the return trip fee for cars was cut from ₹115 to ₹110. Similarly, vehicles with more than seven axles saw their single-trip rate fall from ₹490 to ₹475. In Tamil Nadu, the fee at Boothakudi and Chittampatti plazas saw a reduction of at least ₹5 for cars and up to ₹30 for bigger vehicles on return journeys.

Update: The revised policy has met with immediate legal challenge. The Highway Operators Association (HOAI) and Roadstar Infra Investment Trust (RIIT) challenged the September 13 circular in the Delhi High Court, claiming the revised policy could result in massive losses of ₹4,000 crore for operators.

Hearing the petitions, the Delhi High Court orally directed the NHAI to refrain from taking any coercive steps regarding the implementation of the circular for the time being.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Dr. R. B. Chaudhary