Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said the Narendra Modi government will soon announce a major relief for commuters regarding the toll currently levied on vehicles plying on National Highways. He said that the government is working on a uniform toll policy to benefit national highway users.
“Our research has been completed, and the scheme will be revealed soon,” Gadkari said in an interview.
The minister also mentioned that the government is working on implementing a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-based toll collection system on national highways, which will eliminate the need for toll barriers. This system would lead to a smoother flow of traffic on national highways.
Gadkari acknowledged the memes circulating on social media featuring him in relation to toll collections.
“Many people troll me on social media. People are a little angry about the toll. All I can say is that the anger about the toll will go away in a few days,” Gadkari said.
India has the second-largest road network in the world, with its National Highways spanning a total length of 146,195 km. The country’s toll collections reached Rs 64,809 crore in 2023-24, representing a 35 percent increase over the previous year.
Gadkari’s statement comes soon after the Union Budget 2025-26, in which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the bold initiative of zero income tax for 1 crore individuals with annual earnings of up to Rs 12.75 lakh. While the government will forgo Rs 1 lakh crore in direct tax collection, the move aims to put more money in the hands of people to boost aggregate demand and spur economic growth.
In his interview, Gadkari also mentioned plans to clean up the Yamuna and use the Delhi stretch of the river as a landing strip for seaplanes.
He pointed out that this has already been successfully implemented on the Sabarmati River in Gujarat.
“This was done in Gujarat as well. The Sabarmati River was used as a landing strip,” Gadkari said, referring to Prime Minister Modi’s launch of the seaplane service to the Statue of Unity near Kevadiya as part of the regional connectivity project in 2020.
The Prime Minister had traveled on the maiden flight of the twin-engine plane.
A similar project will be carried out for the Yamuna, Gadkari said. “You can take off from Delhi and land in Agra within 13 minutes and return the same day,” the minister remarked.
IANS
