While the Home Ministry looks to expand the list of VIPs entitled to breezing through airports without security checks that the aam aadmi has to go through, the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways is keeping its fingers crossed. For one year, it has been waiting for a new toll policy for all national highways in which it has suggested that categories of VIP vehicles eligible for exemption be restricted. When this policy will go through is anybody’s guess.

Over 16 categories of vehicles ranging from the Prime Minister’s and President’s to Cabinet Ministers, MPs, MLAs in respective states and foreign dignitaries are exempted from payment of toll tax/road user charges at national highways — an average of Rs 35-40 for a car. However, all government vehicles ranging from district administration, state PWD, sales tax and several other departments also get exemption under the category of “government vehicles.”

The Ministry’s plans to downsize this ever-swelling category is included in the new toll policy as a measure to plug revenue loss — a crucial factor with numerous private players involved in National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)’s BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects.

Officials say 5-10 per cent of the revenue collection through toll is hit due to exemptions alone. The problem area, say officials, is that the local administration and all its departments fall in the “government vehicles” category and so evade user charges at toll plazas. Last year, Rs 1080 crore was collected as toll tax across the highway network — at an average collection of Rs 32 lakh per kilometre per year.

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