All national highways in India will introduce a toll tax hike as soon as midnight strikes on March 31. Effective from April 1, the new rates will hit the commuters on the vital routes of the country — including the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Lucknow highways, NH-9, and the Delhi-Jaipur highway. It is the second occasion within a year that the toll tax has been altered.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has notified its motorists through an official announcement regarding the new toll tax. The high-speed highways in the Lucknow route—namely Lucknow-Kanpur, Ayodhya, Raebareli, and Barabanki—will experience a variation in the rate of increase as per the vehicle size.
While cars will be charged Rs 10 per trip from Rs 5, heavy vehicles will have to pay Rs 25 compared to Rs 20 previously.
For highways passing through Delhi
The hike will also hit users of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, and NH-9. For instance, the one-way toll for a car or a jeep coming from Sarai Kale Khan to Meerut will rise from Rs 165 to Rs 170. Light commercial vehicles and buses will have to shell out Rs 275 and Rs 580, respectively, per trip.
At the Chhijarsi toll plaza on NH-9, toll fees for cars will go up from Rs 170 to Rs 175, for light commercials to Rs 280, and for buses and trucks to Rs 590, the media report stated.
The cars that transport goods with over seven axles will have the highest increase, where the toll increases by Rs 590. Moreover, the fare to travel from Meerut to Ghaziabad will rise from Rs 70 to Rs 75. All the existing tolls will remain the same up to 31 March, while the new rate will be charged from 1 April.
On the Delhi-Jaipur road, the Kherki Daula toll plaza will also change. Though car and jeep tolls remain the same, heavier vehicles will pay an extra INR 5 per trip.
The monthly pass at this plaza will be INR 950, as against INR 930—INR 20 more. Commercial jeeps and cars will be charged INR 85 per side, with their monthly pass going up from INR 1225 to INR 1255. Mini buses and light motor vehicles (LMVs) will have their single-trip tolls raised to INR 125 from INR 120. The increase in tolls has elicited mixed feelings. Some commuters accept the fact that infrastructure is money-intensive, while others bemoan the numerous hikes.
Toll hike at Kherki Daula Plaza from April 1
Traveling by road on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway is also going to get more expensive at the Kherki Daula Toll Plaza. Here's what is happening:
- No increase in car and jeep toll.
- Large vehicles will have to shell out an additional Rs 5 per journey.
- The price of a monthly pass increases to Rs 950 (from Rs 930).
- Commercial jeeps & cars:
-Rs 85 per journey (no hike).
- Monthly pass: Rs 1,255 (increased from Rs 1,225).
LMVs & mini buses: Toll increases from Rs 120 to Rs 125 per trip.