India collected over ₹2.27 lakh crore in highway toll in five years: govt informed that more than ₹2.27 lakh crore in user fees from National Highways was collected over the last five financial years, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday (11 February).
In a written reply to a question on toll collection and revenue from National Highways, the minister shared data showing an increase in user fee collections during the period.
According to the data, toll collections increased from ₹27,926.67 crore in financial year 2020-21 to ₹33,928.66 crore in FY2021-22, rising further to ₹48,032.40 crore in FY2022-23, ₹55,882.12 crore in FY2023-24, and reaching ₹61,408.15 crore in FY2024-25.
Highlighting the shift toward digital tolling, Gadkari informed the House that presently more than 98 per cent of user fee on National Highways is collected through FASTag electronic toll collection systems.
The minister explained that user fee collected on National Highways is governed under the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008.
Read also : India’s rural connectivity drive expands with 2,882 road works spanning 10,577.70 km approved under PMGSY-IV
He added that the fee collected by the Central government is deposited into the Consolidated Fund of India and utilised for the development and augmentation of the national highway network.
Gadkari further stated that regular audits of user fee plazas are conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General, including toll plazas operated by concessionaires.
Detailing the toll transaction framework, the minister said the FASTag ecosystem involves the Toll Management System Software, Acquirer Bank at fee plaza, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) as Central Clearing House (CCH) and FASTag Issuer Bank.
He noted that the system is designed to ensure that no FASTag transaction can take place without the participation of all three stakeholders, namely Acquirer Bank at user fee plaza, NPCI and Issuer Bank, thereby strengthening transparency.
The minister also informed that the National Highways Authority of India issued a Standard Operating Procedure on 25 January 2024 to enhance operational transparency in tolling.
The SOP provides for surprise checks at fee plazas and continuous monitoring to ensure that all transactions, whether cash or FASTag, are processed through the Toll Management System software.
