With all major highway projects in the country now planned on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll basis, the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways is in the process of putting together a new toll policy. Ministry sources said the policy will streamline toll rates as well as address several other issues like overloading and free trips for the local population. The plan to prune down the list of dignitaries and VIPs who are exempt from road toll tax is also on the cards.“The toll policy is getting finishing touches and an inter-ministerial group is examining it. Several issues like toll rates and penalties for overloading of vehicles need a relook. We need to make the toll policy in conformation with the new Model Concessionaire Agreement (MCA) that is used as the contractual framework for all new road projects as per the directions of the Government of India,” said a senior official from the ministry.In keeping with a court ruling, under the new policy, overloaded vehicles are likely to invite heavy penalty and even bar overloaded vehicles from plying on the tolled section. The argument, officials said, is that overloaded vehicles are a major cause for road damage — a fact corroborated by several studies. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has major plans to introduce modern toll technologies enabling automated toll deduction and weigh-in-motion systems. These are already in tender stage.
