Commuters using Delhi-Gurgaon e-way to shell out more for toll from April 1

Commuters on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway will have to shell out a higher toll from April 1, said officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday

Commuters on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway will have to shell out a higher toll from April 1, said officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday. According to the revised rates, the fees for vehicles crossing the Kherki Daula and the IGI toll plazas have been increased by 10-15%.

A man collecting toll tax from a commuter at the Kherki Daula toll plaza in Gurugram on Wednesday. (Parveen Kumar/HT photo)

Millennium City Expressway Private Ltd (MCEPL), the highway concessionaire, said that the rates were revised after they submitted a representation to the NHAI on March 15 for an annual revision based on the yearly Wholesale Price Index (WPI) numbers. The order issued by NHAI on March 25 said that the competent authority had approved the user rates.

Suraj Bhardwaj, CEO, MCEPL, said that the rate card came about due to an annual revision based on the concession agreement between NHAI and MCEPL. “Every year in March we submit a representation to the NHAI seeking a revision based on WPI numbers. This representation is scrutinised by a committee as well as an independent consultant after which a final decision is taken,” he said, adding that the increase in toll was effected after careful consideration of all aspects and data analysis.

As per the new rates, the driver of a car passing through the Kherki Daula toll plaza will have to pay ₹80 for every trip-- ₹10 more than the earlier rate of ₹70. The driver of a light commercial vehicle will have to pay ₹115--the previous rate was ₹100--the driver of a minibus will have to pay ₹115 per trip-- an increase of ₹15. The driver of a bus, a truck, or a multi-axle vehicle is required to pay ₹235 for each trip, which is an increase of ₹30 for all three categories of vehicles.

As for commuters using monthly passes, which allow 40 trips in 30 days, the monthly rate for a pass for personal car is ₹875 (previous rate was ₹765), a pass for a commercial car will cost ₹1,155 (previous rate was ₹1,010), for an LCV and minibus, the rate is ₹1,705 (previous rate was ₹1,490), and for a bus, truck and multi-axle vehicle the rate is ₹3,470 (previous rate was ₹3,035).

The toll was increased last year as well by a minimal amount of ₹5 for cars, buses and multi-axle vehicles, said authorities. Toll for other vehicles remained unchanged.

Presently, the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway is used by around 300,000 vehicles everyday, of which drivers of around 80,000 pay user fees to the concessionaire at Kherki Daula, said MCEPL. However, in the last two years, there is lesser vehicular movement on the highway due to pandemic-induced restrictions and the fact that a large number of commercial vehicles are diverted through the KMP Expressway.

Bhardwaj said that the highway authority utilised the money collected as toll in the last year to relay the entire surface of the expressway, thus improving the commuting experience. “We have also improved lighting and the condition of service lanes,” he said.

The Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway was taken over by MCEPL, is a company formed by a consortium of banks that provided the NHAI with the loan to construct the expressway, in 2014. It has the mandate to collect toll on this highway till 2023.