Govt cuts toll on partially-open National Expressways from Feb 15 | India News
The government has amended national highway fare rules to reduce toll charges for users of partially operational national highways.
The amended rules will come into force on February 15, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement on Thursday.
The government has notified an amendment to the National Road Taxes (Determination of Fares and Collection) Rules, 2008, he said.
Under this, when a national expressway is not open from end to end, toll charges will be charged for the length traveled at a lower rate than that applicable to the national highway, the ministry said.
He said that currently, user fees on national highways are charged 25 percent more than the normal user fees on national highways for the total length, as they provide a faster and smoother access-controlled travel experience that provides commuters with a comfortable journey.
This fee is collected for the section completed even if the expressway is not entirely open over its entire length from one end to the other. Under the new provision, where a national expressway is not opened from end to end, toll charges will be charged for the length traveled at a lower rate than that applicable for the national highway section under the National Highways Charges (Determination of Fares and Collection) Rules, 2008, the ministry explained.
The amendment aims to promote the use of national highways to encourage users to use the open sections, which will help decongest existing national highways parallel to highways, enabling faster movement of logistics and passengers as well as reducing pollution due to traffic jams on old national highways. The rule will be valid for up to one year from the effective date of the amendment, or until the highway becomes fully operational, whichever comes first.
