toll plaza management vb project
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toll plaza management vb project
18-10-2017, 11:07 AM
At present, toll rates are typically reduced to 40% of the current toll rate after the end of the concession period. Photo: Mint New Delhi: Roads minister Nitin Gadkari's pledge to limit toll collection to recover the cost of the project faces resistance because it will add to the government's tax burden. Officials at the roads ministry and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) have launched a presentation to the minister to explain why the proposal is not feasible. "We have asked the minister to allow us to explain why stopping toll collection after recovering the cost of the project may not be desirable," said one official who did not want to be identified. "The money raised through the toll after the end of the concession period is used to maintain national highway projects.
In general, these are good stretches and the cost of maintenance is high and there are not enough funds with the government to guarantee the maintenance of these stretches without the toll money. "Currently, toll rates are typically reduced to 40 % of the current toll rate after the end of the concession period The concession period is the duration during which a developer receives the toll contract for a road project to recover the cost of construction and maintain it, and typically ranges from 20 and 30. "The toll policy is very vague. It has to be revised for many reasons, such as defining what constitutes the cost of construction and why stretches are stretched and others not stretched, "said a second official who also requested anonymity.
"However, the toll that is collected after the concession period is used to maintain and cross other stretches of national roads that can not be tolerated. If this is eliminated, where will the money come from to maintain the national road network?" Gadkari first talked about stopping toll collection once the cost of a project at Lok Sabha is recovered on August 14. Addressing a 100-day NDA government conference on 15 September, Gadkari reiterated his enthusiasm for moving forward with the proposal. The statements are presented in the context of several instances of protests against the collection of tolls.
Highway Ministry officials are exploring alternative and acceptable solutions for resource mobilisation that could at least address the resentment of local residents. "One of the suggestions is to only collect the commercial traffic once the cost of the project is recovered, since 80% of the toll collection is still coming from commercial traffic, however, all of this is at an early stage" , said the first official. The National Highway Tariff Standard (Determination of Tariffs and Collection) formulated in 2008 is currently in force.
"It is necessary to re-examine the toll strategy, taking into account the problem of local users. More importantly, it is the problem of toll to perpetuity for stretches without providing a free alternative route to users who may not want to pay , should also be addressed, "said Pranavant, senior director of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd, an audit and consulting firm. He uses a single name. The move, when first suggested, had been criticized by industry too because it could make it difficult for developers to access bank finance.
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