Officials announced that India will raise road toll charges nationwide by 3-5% starting Monday, following a delay in the annual increase in April due to the general elections.
Operators in India Highway road annually revise toll charges in line with inflation and publish notices in local newspapers announcing 3% to 5% hikes at nearly 1,100 toll plazas starting Monday.
A senior official at the National Highways Authority of India said that, with the election process over.
The official said hikes in toll charges and taxation on fuel products help pay for the expansion of national highways, but opposition parties and many motorists criticise the annual rise in charges, saying they increase transport costs of essential commodities and burden commuters.
High operators like IRB Infrastructure Developers (IRBI.NS), opens new tab and Ashok Buildcon Ltd (ABDL.NS), opens new tab will benefit from the toll increases.
India has invested billions of dollars over the last decade to expand the national highways, with a total length of about 146,000 kilometres, the second-largest global road network.
Toll collections jumped to more than 540 billion rupees ($6.5 billion) in the 2022/23 fiscal year from 252 billion in 2018/19, helped by a rise in road traffic as well as by increases in the number of toll plazas and charges.
India’s general election concluded on Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance projected to win a big majority, TV exit polls showed.