Bhubaneswar: After a span of 13 years, the state government is mulling to revise the toll fees charged on various roads under the Works and Rural Development departments.
State-run Odisha Bridge and Construction Corporation (OBCC) has requested the state government to revise the existing toll fee structure as per present road length and infrastructure.
There are 29 toll gates under Works department and seven under Rural Development department. The state government has been collecting only ` 24 to 26 crore annually from these toll gates. However, the maintenance cost of the roads is higher compared to the income. Therefore, the government plans to hike the toll fees, sources said. “We have requested the state government to notify the tollable length of different roads to enable us to revise the toll fees accordingly,” said MD of OBCC, JK Das.
“Consequent upon publication of Odisha State Roads Tolls (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2011, the existing toll fee structure for the above toll gates needs to be revised. Determination of fees for a toll gate as per the Rule 2011 requires defining the toll length, lane width, bridge length, bypass details etc. through notification,” Das wrote to Works secretary Krishan Kumar. The fee levied on the vehicles crossing the toll gates on the roads and bridges in 2006.
The existing toll fee for three-wheelers is `5 (for one side) and `7 (for both sides), `10 and 15 for car/jeep/van, – `20 and `30 for trucks/ minibuses/tractors/pickups and `200 and `300 for heavy vehicles. Two-wheelers and other vehicles have been exempted from the fee.