At about 1100 toll plazas across the country, toll rates have been revised by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Amid reduced cargo volume, and dwindling exports the annual hike in toll fare is seen as a huge burden by transport operators. Toll charges have been increased by 3% to 5% countrywide.
Usually, NHAI upgrades toll charges in April every year. But, this year, owing to the Lok Sabha general elections, the updated rates have been enforced starting from June 3rd.
For instance, majority of the shipments in Tamil Nadu originate at Tuticorin Port and need to cross several toll plazas before reaching industry clusters such as Tirupur. So any increase in toll charges is likely to significantly impact the logistics cost of truck operators and business alike.
According to industry insiders, earlier, a cargo truck had to pay around Rs 3,500 for reaching from Thoothukudi to Tirupur. Now with the 5% hike in toll fee the logistics costs will escalate further and will be passed down heavily onto the customers.
