Traveling on national highways and motorways will become more expensive beginning April 1, 2023, when the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) applies a toll fee hike of up to 7% across the country. According to the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, tolls are revised on a yearly basis. Tolls for all kinds of vehicles travelling on national highways will be raised by up to 15% in 2022. Currently, the average toll tax taken on the country’s motorways is Rs 2.19 per kilometre.
Expressway routes that see a high-number of four-wheeler traffic such as the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, will see a hike of Rs 5 in toll fees. Other major routes such as the Eastern Peripheral Expressway and Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway will get costlier by 5 to 7 percent. Minimum toll tariffs on major routes will range between Rs 35 to Rs 105. Toll prices for heavy vehicles will see a hike of as much as Rs 40 from current rates.
Recent data reveals that in FY 2022, toll worth Rs 33,881 crore was collected on national highways, a 21 percent jump from FY 2021. Moreover, toll prices across the country have risen by 32 percent, since 2018-19. One of the indirect effects of such toll hikes is the increase in cost for essential items that are distributed across the country through freight. The increase in already inflated essential commodity prices impacts the lives of ordinary citizens.