Govt mulls subsidized annual toll charge for private vehicles

The Government of India could introduce a new "shadow tolling" scheme which will allow users of private vehicles to pass through toll collection centres on national highways without having to stop.

Under this new scheme, users will have to pay an annual toll charge of Rs. 2,500 - Rs. 3,000. This service will act as an annual pass that will be accepted on all national highways across India. It will be available only for users who have the Fastag smart tag installed in their vehicles.

Under the new scheme, the government will pay a substantial portion of the toll to the private developers. This differential amount could be about Rs 1,500 crore and will be paid from the government's total kitty of toll revenue. Alternately, the contracts of private developers could have to be extended to compensate the concessionaries.

Smart tags and electronic toll collection will make it easy to record the number of vehicles passing through a toll plaza. They will also reduce the chances of private players tampering with figures.

Source: Times of India