Record Earnings from Toll Plazas: Gujarat’s Bharthana Leads with Rs 2,043 Crore
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): India's expanding road network has led to a significant rise in toll plaza revenues. According to government data, the top-10 toll plazas in the country have generated Rs 13,988 crore over the past five years. Among them, the highest-earning toll plaza is located near Bharthana, a small village in Gujarat, on the Vadodara-Bharuch section of NH-48, the key highway connecting Delhi and Mumbai. This toll plaza has earned an average of Rs 400 crore annually, accumulating a total of Rs 2,043.81 crore in the last five years, with a record Rs 472.65 crore collected in the 2023-24 financial year.
The Shahjahanpur toll plaza in Rajasthan, also located on NH-48, ranks second with an annual income of Rs 378 crore. This highway sees heavy truck traffic carrying goods from northern India to the western ports, which contributes to the high toll revenues. Highways like GT Road, the Delhi-Mumbai Highway, and the East Coast Highway also lead in toll collections. The Jaladhulagori toll plaza in West Bengal, situated on the Dhankuni-Kharagpur section of NH-16, ranks third, having earned Rs 1,538.91 crore in the past five years. The Barjor toll plaza on the Etawah-Chakeri section of NH-19 in Uttar Pradesh ranks fourth, with Rs 1,480.75 crore collected in five years. In fifth place is the Gharaunda toll plaza on the Panipat-Jalandhar section of NH-44, which earned Rs 1,314.37 crore over the same period.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), toll collection is being implemented on approximately 45,000 km of India's 1.5 lakh km national highway network, with 1,063 toll plazas across the country. Notably, 14 toll plazas now earn over Rs 200 crore annually. With the expansion of highways and expressways in the past five years, the use of Fastag has significantly reduced toll evasion and boosted revenue. The total toll collection in India, which stood at Rs 27,504 crore in 2019-20, has nearly doubled to Rs 55,882 crore in 2023-24. Over the last five years, toll collections have reached Rs 1.9 lakh crore.
However, while the Rs 1.9 lakh crore collected in tolls is substantial, the government states that it constitutes only about 20% of the annual budget spent on constructing and maintaining highways. Toll charges are only applied to highways with two and a half lanes or more, and efforts are underway to expand toll collection to more roads. The top-10 toll plazas also include locations such as the Choryasi toll plaza in Gujarat, the Thikriya/Jaipur plaza in Rajasthan, the L&T Krishnagiri Thoppur plaza in Tamil Nadu, the Nawabganj plaza in Uttar Pradesh and the Sasaram plaza in Bihar.
Uttar Pradesh leads in toll earnings, with 97 toll plazas contributing Rs 22,914 crore over the past five years, while Rajasthan follows closely with 156 toll plazas and Rs 20,308 crore in collections. Highways connected to ports and industrial zones, which see higher truck traffic, tend to generate more toll revenue. While these toll revenues benefit private companies, the growing toll costs have become an additional financial burden for the public. The government maintains that toll income is reinvested to improve road infrastructure, but many feel the increasing toll fees are straining their wallets. As the number of toll plazas continues to rise, the government will need to find a balance between increasing revenue and reducing the financial burden on the public.
