Toll fee at 28 plazas in the State, under the control of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), will go up by at least 5% from September 1.
The annual revision is based on the wholesale price index (WPI), where 2% increase is fixed and the remaining is calculated depending on the WPI.
Plea for relief
The increase comes at a time when truckers have been seeking some kind of relief from the government.
“Since not many factories are operational, we don’t get as many trips. We sought a six-month moratorium for toll collection and had suggested that the government extend the period of operation of the plazas by the same period but to no avail,” said M.R. Kumaraswamy, president, Tamil Nadu State Lorry Owners’ Federation.
He said that business was at its lowest ebb, and that small operators were hit the hardest.
Sources in the NHAI said that they were only doing what was required under the law.
Any decision to waive the fee should be made by the government.
Toll collections stand at 70% of normal times since private and public transport vehicles are off the roads due to the lockdown.
