Highway tolls shouldn't be charged for pothole-filled or muddy roads, Nitin Gadkari tells highway agencies
Nitin Gadkari stated on Tuesday that highway agencies should not charge tolls if roads are not in good condition, emphasizing that poor road quality and prolonged wait times at toll plazas are unacceptable, a TOI article stated. Speaking at a global workshop on satellite-based tolling, set to be implemented over 5,000 km this financial year, Gadkari underscored the necessity for highway agencies to provide efficient services before collecting toll fees.
“If you don’t provide good services, you should not charge toll,” Gadkari asserted. “We are in a hurry to start tolling to collect user fees and protect our interest. When the condition of any road is not good I get numerous complaints and there are social media posts all over...You should collect the user fee where you provide the best quality road. If you collect toll on roads with potholes, mud, then there will be a backlash from people. We (political leaders) face people’s ire.”
Gadkari emphasized that field officers of National Highway (NH) agencies must be sensitive to the public's pain caused by delays at toll plazas, advocating for a mechanism to quickly address grievances. The minister's remarks reflect a growing frustration among commuters regarding the state of highways and toll collection practices.
“FASTag,” the mandatory system for paying tolls introduced in 2021, has facilitated 98% of transactions through smart tags fixed on vehicles. However, reports of long queues at toll plazas persist across the country, prompting the National Highways
