The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in the Parliament that a total of Rs 11,945 crore has been collected in toll tax from vehicles using the Jaipur-Delhi highway via National Highway 48. The Ministry was responding during a parliamentary session to questions raised by Lok Sabha MP from Rajasthan’s Nagaur Hanuman Beniwal.
Beniwal submitted his question and asked whether the toll tax revenue from the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway had exceeded the construction cost of the highway. He asked “the details of toll tax collected and the construction cost of the said highway; whether despite Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh having more NHs than Rajasthan, the toll tax collection in Rajasthan is higher than in these two states and if so, the reasons therefore; and whether the Government is aware that despite toll tax collection, several NHs in Rajasthan are in a deteriorated condition and if so, the justification for toll tax collection on such roads”, IE reported.
Responding, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari provided detailed figures. On the Gurgaon-Kotputli-Jaipur stretch, with an appointed project date of April 3, 2009, the total user fee collected was Rs 9,218.30 crore, the report further stated. The construction and maintenance cost for this stretch was reported as Rs 6,430 crore.
For the Delhi-Gurgaon segment, which commenced on January 12, 2003, the total user fee collected amounted to Rs 2,727.50 crore, while the construction cost stood at Rs 2,489.45 crore. In total, the Jaipur-Delhi corridor has seen toll collections of Rs 11,945.80 crore, against a construction expenditure of Rs 8,919.45 crore, Gadkari said in his response.
The Ministry emphasised that the construction costs include maintenance and other associated expenses over time. It further clarified that the cumulative toll collected over the years cannot be directly compared to the initial construction expenditure due to the long-term nature of highway maintenance and operational expenses, the IE reported.
Gadkari further said that in the financial year 2023-24, Rajasthan collected Rs 5,885.03 crore in toll tax from national highways (NHs). While this figure is lower than Uttar Pradesh’s Rs 6,695.40 crore, it surpassed Maharashtra’s collection of Rs 5,352.53 crore. The Ministry explained that toll collection is influenced by various factors including traffic volume, vehicle type, industrial connectivity and highway proximity to major cities.
Despite the substantial toll revenue, Beniwal expressed dissatisfaction with the deteriorating condition of highways in Rajasthan. The MP, while responding to Gadkari’s answer, pointed to the Supreme Court’s observations on poor road conditions and questioned why citizens should continue to pay toll fees. “Despite collecting more toll than the cost of road construction, the condition of national highways remains poor. When the honourable Supreme Court has already stated that the roads are bad, why should travellers pay a toll? And why should the common man bear the consequences?” Beniwal said.
He further urged the government to reconsider the current toll taxation system, especially in cases where road conditions are inadequate.
Responding to the criticism, the Ministry defended the toll taxation process, stating that toll fees are levied as per the National Highway Fee Rules. These rules determine the fee based on factors like highway length, wholesale price index, vehicle categories and highway traffic volume, the IE report further said.