Kherki Daula toll plaza shift to Kukdola to begin next month

The 14-lane plaza will use multi-lane free flow tolling with FASTag readers. The tender is likely within a week and work may take six months.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will begin construction of a new toll plaza and administrative building at Kukdola village near Pachgaon next month to facilitate the shifting of the existing Kherki Daula toll plaza, officials said on Tuesday. The tender for the project is likely to be floated within a week.

Toll collection at Kherki Daula will stop once the new Kukdola facility becomes operational. The site has received approvals from all stakeholders. (HT Archive)

The development comes almost a decade after Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari announced the shifting of the Kherki Daula toll plaza during a public rally in Badshahpur. Officials said toll collection at the existing Kherki Daula plaza will cease as soon as the new toll plaza at Kukdola becomes operational.

A senior NHAI official said the new toll plaza will have 14 lanes, and construction is expected to take around six months, after which the existing Kherki Daula toll plaza on the Delhi-Jaipur highway will be shifted to the new site. While NHAI had earlier estimated the project cost, including the administrative building, at ₹18 crore, highway officials said the cost at the new site will be lower as only gantries for FASTag readers will be required. No toll cabins or other allied infrastructure will be needed under the multi lane free flow system.

“The site for the new toll plaza at Kukdola near Pachgaon has been finalised, and all the stakeholders have given their consent and approval. The tender for construction of the toll plaza building and setting up a gantry for tolling will be floated by IHMCL,” said Yogesh Tilak, project director, Dwarka project implementation unit (PIU).

Tilak said the new toll plaza will adopt the multi-lane free flow (MLFF) system. “Digital tags will be read automatically. It would not require any cabins on the road for toll operators, as the entire process of toll collection would be digital,” he said.

Another senior NHAI official, requesting anonymity, said all stakeholders, including HSIIDC, GMDA and security agencies located nearby, have approved the site. “All agencies have approved the site. We expect to start the work on the ground by next month,” the official said.

The relocation of the Kherki Daula toll plaza was first announced by Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari during a public rally in Badshahpur in 2016 following demands from residents. The project was delayed because of land acquisition issues, litigation, protests by local villagers, forest clearance requirements and security concerns.

The Union transport ministry approved shifting the toll plaza to Pachgaon in May 2025. However, after fresh protests by local villagers, the proposed location was changed to Kukdola near Sehrawan, around 13 kilometres from the existing Kherki Daula toll plaza.

According to an NHAI official, the current site continues to fall within the revenue estate of Kukdola village, which received approval in 2025. However, it has been shifted by around one kilometre towards Sehrawan from the earlier proposed location.