NHAI Raises Expressway Toll Fees by 5% Effective Monday. Click to Know more

India will hike road toll charges across the country by 3-5% starting Monday, officials said, following a temporary halt in April due to the general elections. Toll charges in India are revised annually in accordance with inflation, and highway operators have issued notices in local newspapers announcing the hikes at nearly 1,100 toll plazas.

A senior official at the National Highways Authority of India said, “As the election process is over, the revision of user fee (toll) rates, which was put on hold during the elections, will become effective from June 3.” The official explained that increases in toll charges and taxation on fuel products help fund the expansion of national highways. However, opposition parties and many motorists criticize the annual rise in charges, arguing that it raises transport costs for essential commodities and burdens commuters.

Highway operators like IRB Infrastructure Developers and Ashok Buildcon Ltd will benefit from the toll increases. Over the last decade, India has invested billions of dollars to expand the national highways, now totaling about 146,000 kilometers, the second-largest road network globally. Toll collections surged to more than 540 billion rupees ($6.5 billion) in the 2022/23 fiscal year, up from 252 billion rupees in 2018/19, driven by a rise in road traffic and increases in the number of toll plazas and charges.