Lottery for highway travelers! The government took the biggest decision till date regarding toll tax.

There is a very relieving news for crores of drivers traveling on the national highways and expressways of the country. The Central Government has taken a big step to curb the ongoing arbitrariness regarding toll tax collection. According to the new SOP (SOP i.e. Standard Operating Procedure) issued by the government, now drivers will not have to pay toll tax again and again within a radius of every 60 kilometers. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued strict instructions in this regard, which makes it clear that now no new toll plaza will be established before every 60 km on the new highways being built in the country.

In fact, for a long time this complaint was being raised that at many places there were two toll plazas at very short distances, which was putting additional burden on the public’s pockets. Keeping this in mind, the government has made this policy change. With the introduction of this new rule, not only will people save money, but traveling on the highway will also become easier and faster than before.

Why was there a need for this new rule?

If you often travel on the highway, you must have experienced this problem yourself. In fact, at present there are about 130 such places within the country, where drivers have to pay toll tax twice just for covering a distance of 60 kilometers. The limit is reached when at some places this distance becomes even smaller. According to statistics, there are 22 toll plazas in the country where drivers have to pay toll again after a distance of just 30 kilometers. To remove this flaw in the system and to provide relief to the public, the government has adopted this tough stance.

Prohibition on building toll plaza arbitrarily, special approval will have to be taken

The government has made it clear that now no company or contractor can decide the distance of the toll plaza as per its own wish. According to the new guidelines, if under any special circumstances a toll plaza has to be built at a distance of less than 60 kilometers or within a radius of 10 kilometers from the city limits, then it will have to go through a very strict process. For this, it will be mandatory to take special permission in writing from the ‘Toll Committee’ even before the construction of the road starts. After the implementation of this rule, it will become impossible to open toll plazas at short distances without any concrete reason.

High-level ‘toll committee’ formed under the leadership of NHAI

The Central Government has constituted a high-level committee to strictly implement this new policy at the grassroots level. It is being told that this committee will be headed by a senior member of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). This committee will monitor the distance and compliance of toll plazas across the country.

There is no need for those breaking the rules in Delhi-NCR, ‘e-notice’ will come directly

Amidst these highway rules, a big news is also coming from Delhi-NCR. Now ‘E-Notice’ will be sent directly to vehicles violating rules at toll plazas in Delhi. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has taken a strict stance to prevent incidents of irregularities and rule breaking at toll points. For this, the proposal to amend the MCD Act has already been approved by the House. Now this proposal has been sent to the Delhi Government for final approval, after which its official notification will be issued.

It is clear from this entire change that the government now wants to make the travel on the highway fast and transparent without any hindrance, so that the common man does not have to face any kind of mental or financial trouble during the journey.