The story so far: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has recommended significant reforms to toll collection practices on national highways, such as calling for an end to the perpetual tolling system. The report was submitted before Parliament on August 12.
What are the key recommendations?
The PAC headed by Congress MP K.C.Venugopal has advocated for discontinuing or significantly reducing toll charges on national highways once the capital expenditure and maintenance expenses have been fully recovered. The Committee expressed concern that current toll practices allow for indefinite collection regardless of road quality, traffic volume, or user affordability, creating what it termed a “regime of perpetual tolling”. The panel emphasised that any continuation of toll collection beyond cost recovery should only be permitted with clear justification and approval from a proposed independent oversight authority. It proposed establishing a specialised regulatory authority to ensure transparency and fairness in toll determination, collection, and regulation. The PAC noted that while toll rates currently increase annually by a fixed 3% increment plus partial indexation to the Wholesale Price Index, there exists no institutional mechanism to independently evaluate whether these charges are justified relative to actual operational and maintenance costs or future service requirements. The panel has also insisted that highway users should receive toll reimbursements when construction is in progress and commuters cannot properly utilise the roadways.
