What Exactly Is the New Rule?
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has amended the National Highways Fee Rules, 2008, changing how tolls are calculated on stretches with structures like bridges, tunnels, and flyovers. Previously, the cost of building these expensive structures was
recovered by applying a heavy multiplier to their length. Now, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) must use a new formula that introduces a cap on the chargeable distance. Specifically, authorities will compare two calculations: one, adding 10 times the structure's length to the remaining road length, and two, simply taking five times the total length of the entire highway section. The toll will be based on whichever of these two calculations results in a lower chargeable distance, a move that is expected to bring down costs for many commuters.
Why Was the Old System a Problem?
The previous system was designed to recover the high costs associated with constructing and maintaining complex infrastructure like multi-kilometre bridges and tunnels. To do this, the rules allowed for the length of such a structure to be considered as 10 times its actual length for tolling purposes. While logical from an infrastructure financing perspective, this often led to situations that felt unfair to commuters. For example, a highway section that was mostly a long elevated corridor could have a disproportionately high toll, as the chargeable distance was artificially inflated. There was effectively no upper limit, which meant travellers on certain modern routes with extensive elevated sections paid significantly more.
A Practical Example of the Change
To understand the impact, let's look at an example provided in the official Gazette notification. Consider a 40-km highway section that includes 30 km of elevated structures and 10 km of regular road. Under the old system, the chargeable length would be a massive 310 km (30 km of structure x 10 + 10 km of road). With the new rule, authorities must compare this 310 km figure with five times the total highway length, which is 200 km (40 km x 5). Since the rule mandates using the lower of the two, the toll will now be calculated based on a chargeable distance of 200 km, not 310 km—a significant reduction.
Who Stands to Benefit Most?
The primary beneficiaries of this revised formula are motorists who frequently use national highways with a high proportion of elevated corridors, bridges, or tunnels. This is common on routes that bypass cities, connect urban centres, or navigate difficult terrain. By introducing a cap, the government aims to make toll collection fairer and more uniform, preventing the extreme multipliers that were possible under the old system. This should make long-distance travel more affordable and could also help lower operating costs for commercial transport and logistics companies that rely on these key routes. However, it's important to note that this change does not apply to all national highways, only to the specific stretches that have these independent structures longer than 60 metres.
Implementation and The Road Ahead
The NHAI has already directed its field offices to begin processing toll revisions based on these amended rules. For existing toll plazas that are publicly funded, the changes will take effect from their next scheduled fee revision date. The goal is to balance the need to recover infrastructure costs with providing affordable and fair tolling for citizens. While the previous 60-km minimum distance rule between toll plazas remains a point of public discussion, this new formula specifically tackles the issue of how toll is calculated within a tolled section. This is a step towards a more logical tolling system as India's highway network continues to expand and modernise with more complex and expensive engineering structures.
