MCD to hire new toll agency for 156 border entry points, up from 124 earlier

Officials said new toll points have been added in each zone to plug revenue losses caused by diverted traffic

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) plans to hire a new agency to collect toll tax at 156 entry points on Delhi’s borders — 30 more than in 2021, when 124 sites were covered. Officials said the number of toll points has been revised as many commercial vehicles now use smaller roads to avoid tolls.

Toll collection will be done through RFID at 13 major entry points, handheld devices at 111 plazas, and manually or by other means at the rest. (HT Archive)

According to a proposal awaiting the standing committee’s approval, the new collection agency will operate 156 toll plazas and 246 lanes, divided into six zones — Kapashera (19 plazas), Badarpur (20), Tikri (33), Shahdara (30), KGT (31), and Ghazipur (23).

Officials said new toll points have been added in each zone to plug revenue losses caused by diverted traffic. A comparison of the two proposals shows several new toll plazas have been added across zones. In the Kapashera zone, four new sites — B-150 Shani Temple, Bajghera-3, Nanakheri-2, and Nanakheri-3 — have been included. The Badarpur zone now has new plazas at Lakkadpura, Durga Builder (Jaitpur-5), and near Kalindi Kunj (Jaitpur-6). Additions under the Tikri zone include Manjari, Nizampur-3, Sainik School, Darola Border-3, Dhansa-2, and multiple points in Jharoda. In the KGT (Narela) zone, seven new sites have been added — two in Mangeshpur, one in Kundli, two in Harewali, and one in Auchandi.

Toll collection will be done through RFID at 13 major entry points, handheld devices at 111 plazas, and manually or by other means at the rest.

A senior MCD official said the additions were necessary as commercial traffic was increasingly using narrow village roads to bypass the toll system. “The revision aims to ensure that all entry routes are covered,” the official said.

The civic body has been trying to appoint a new toll collection agency since March, but the proposal was sent back twice by the House of councillors over eligibility and procedural concerns. It was later asked to seek approval from the standing committee before floating fresh tenders.

The toll tax is charged from commercial vehicles and on an average, 105,989 commercial vehicles enter the national capital every day. Of this, around 70,000 vehicles are taxis or cabs.