Road journey to become costlier as NHAI hikes toll
The Statesman | 1 April 2025
Travelling by road from Kolkata to New Delhi will be costlier as the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to hike new tariffs in toll plazas. There are several toll plazas starting from Dankuni, Palsit (in the Dankuni to Palsit stretch), Banskopa in West Bengal and then Chirkunda in Jharkhand (in Banskopa to Barwadda stretch) etc.
Starting midnight tonight, the hike in toll will be effective.
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Last year, the increase of rates in the toll plazas was between 3-5 per cent. Due to the Lok Sabha election, instead of 1 April 2024, the implementation of the new tariff charges were introduced after the Lok Sabha polls were over, due to instructions by the election commission of India.
The old tariffs were announced till 31 March 2025 by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). At present the NHAI collects Rs 55,000 crore as taxes from the entire toll plazas in the country, which the Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has planned to increase by Rs 1.40 lakh crore tax collection from the toll plazas in the next two years.
Under the Bharatmala and other expansion and regular maintenance projects NHAI is at present working on a total estimated cost of Rs 5 lakh crores, however, the budget assistance is worth Rs 2.80 lakh crore. To need the additional funding the NHAI has planned to enhance the rates and revised its toll charges from tomorrow.
In Banskopa toll plaza in Panagarh toll plaza hike is a hike of Rs 5-10 for small vehicles, Rs 20 at least for larger vehicles for single entry. From Rs 90 in single trip and same day return is Rs 130 collected from small vehicles in Banskopa Toll Plaza in Panagarh of national highways-19 by NHAI.
It will be Rs 95 for a single trip and Rs 135 for both ways for the small vehicles now. Light heavy vehicles will have to pay Rs 140 and buses and trucks have to pay Rs 310 per single entry.