Gadkari hints at Toll Relief, but rules out Complete Removal

New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) Electronic toll plazas in India will not be removed although the government is considering ways to provide some relief, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday.

“If you want good services, you have to pay for it. Toll will not be abolished. But we are looking at ways to provide some relief,” Gadkari said at an event here organised by All India Transporter’s Welfare Association. He said the government is converting tolls into e-tolls to help reduce time and fuel cost.

“Toll policy is a necessity and we are not happy to levy it. But with the use of the latest technology, we will make the work of transporters and logistics players easier by looking at ways to reduce fuel costs,” the minister said. Gadkari also said the new Road Transport and Safety Bill 2015 does not violate the rights of the states.

Speaking of inter-state contract carriage permits, he said these are envisaged to be issued by the National Transport Authority and the revenues due to each state would be transferred to the state concerned on the lines of the National Permit System for goods carriers.