Responding a question of MP Daroga Prasad Saroj, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in the Lok Sabha that 1,087 toll plazas in the country are earning Rs 168 crore every day. The government informed about the Budhanpur -Varanasi road that this road is built in two parts. Its total cost from Budhanpur to Gonsai’s market bypass and Gonsai’s market bypass to Varanasi is Rs 5,746.97 crore and so far the toll recovery has been Rs 73.47 crore.

The central government also clarified that toll collection is not only for cost recovery, but it is a use fee according to the rules. According to government or private projects, the duration and rates of the toll are fixed.

Toll plaza and government income in the country

• Total Toll Plaza by June 2025: 1,087
• Daily toll income: 168.24 crores
• Total toll income in 2024-25: 61,408.15 crore
• Public Fund Plaza: Rs 28,823.74 crore
• Plaza operated by private operators: Rs 32,584.41 crore

No plans to toll free national highways- central government

The government said that there is no plan to toll-free national highways. The revenue from recovery goes into the Consolidated Fund of India and new roads are built and repaired.

The central government also informed that in BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) projects, after the fixed period, the toll is handed over to the government and it recovers, while the toll collection on the government (public funded) roads will continue continuously and will be revised every year.

What did the government say about the day’s day cost of road construction,

The government said about the daily cost of road construction, “The factors that set construction costs are the terrain, soil, height, bridge-structure, material, traffic loads etc.. Along with this, the government has created an IT tool to decide the cost, which takes the estimated expenses with all technical inputs.” However, this information was not given comparatively in the percentage of how much or less income from toll is, as the cost of each project varies.

Is tax collected from citizens for road construction,

In response to this question, the government said, “It is charged in two ways. The first user is charged from those traveling on Feel (toll)- highways. Roads, bridges, airports etc. are spent on development. ”

That is, if we talk about overall, the Government of India does not see toll collection by linking the cost of road. The purpose of toll is to charge the use of roads and improve the road network across the country with that money.

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