For whom the levy tolls

Fancy a speedy drive, avoiding the chaotic, taxing traffic that ordinary mortals are destined to negotiate every day? Then be prepared to pay hefty tolls that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will charge on highways. You will be charged even if you are headed to the airport. 

Yes, those toll booths erected barely a few metres away from the trumpet flyover to the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) might stump you. You will wonder why you are forced to pay for an elevated expressway to the airport which is still on paper. Airport taxi operators have already raised the question, protested and still haven’t got any convincing answers.

But now, it transpires that NHAI wants to collect toll on all the national highways leading to the City. The collection is expected to start in a few months.

The State and Central governments want citizens to pay the price of ‘development’. Those who can afford it will not hesitate to pay if they get speed travel in return. But there are thousands who cannot afford to pay, particularly those who get in and out of the City almost daily. For them, the only way in and out are the same old traffic-clogged, poorly maintained and dirty roads.

The seven National Highways that connect Bangalore to other parts of the State and to the rest of the nation will turn tollways. While NH-4 and NH-7 are all ready to be tolled, NH-48, NH-207 and NH-209 are high on the NHAI’s agenda to be upgraded and tolled.
The NHAI has already amended its rules to collect a user fee from commuters on all its roads, upgraded and maintained in association with private players (Public-Private Partnership - PPP model).

Taxing airport-goers

The toll debate will stay alive. But the Bangalorean’s immediate concern is the toll booths erected just a few metres before the trumpet flyover to the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA). The booths are set up by NHAI which wants to upgrade the NH-7 for a distance of 22.12 km. It is the only road that promises a hefty bounty to the Central government and the Navyuga Consortium which is building the expressway. After all, the massive Passenger Car Unit (PCU) movement on the road couldn’t have been higher.

NHAI has its reasons to levy toll even for those heading to the airport.

“You get to zip to the airport in 45 minutes from Hebbal, and we provide the expressway,” say the NHAI officials. An officer even equates the user fee to the parking fee levied by malls and shopping complexes. “It is the same to pay for the roads, which are seamless and easy to ride on. Except in this case, it is the NHAI which is collecting the fee.”

But commuters are aghast that they are forced to pay the toll even before the expressway work begins. “How can they collect toll from April for a public road that will take another two years to materialise,” the commuters ask.

Under the PPP model, a concessionary agreement has been signed between the NHAI and the Navyuga Devanahalli Tollway Private Limited for the NH-7 upgradation project.

The agreement is for a period of 20 years under the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT).
While the agreement clearly states that the project has to be completed by the Navyuga Devanahalli Tollway Private Limited at its ‘own cost’ and ‘expense’, the NHAI has allowed Navyuga to collect the toll prior to the completion of the expressway which defies logic.

This is a classic case of payment before goods delivery. And two years is a long time!
So, what is NHAI’s explanation. Officials say the toll to be levied from this month is considered a part of the finances to be generated by the company. “We have given them the sanction to collect the toll under the concessionary agreement,” says a NHAI official.

Toll to be increased

If you thought the toll is not justified, here’s more to worry: It is now learnt that the toll on NH-7 towards the Airport is actually only the base rate and will be raised once the expressway is completed. 

“We will charge only the base rate for now. Once the project is completed, an additional fee will be levied on the vehicles by Navayuga to recover the project cost of Rs 200 crore put in for the elevated portion of the road,” informs the NHAI official. The entire project is scheduled to be completed in 730 days from the date of approval i.e. April 30, 2010.

Other tollways

The NHAI has also accelerated the process of levying toll on the Bangalore-Mulbagal Road, at the other end of NH-4. Although at the toll gate the message is that the collection will begin in the next 15 days, according to NHAI officials it will take at least two to four months for the project to be completed. The project is being implemented by Lanco, which is widening the road to a six-lane stretch from Bangalore to Mulbagal.

The NHAI has also started feasibility study of the Kanakapura Road, which connects to NH-209. “We are looking at the feasibility of widening the NH-209. Whether it can be widened to a four-lane or a six-lane, we can decide only after receiving the feasibility report. Tenders will be called later,” say the Highway Authority officials. The project for the feasibility study was awarded last month and is scheduled to be completed in the next six months.

So, will these tollways generate the expected revenue? Doubts arise at least if one looks at the expressway between Tumkur and Nelamangala. NHAI officials themselves admit that the expressway has been suffering loss of Rs 8 lakh every day. Reason: The anticipated traffic movement has not translated into the actual PCU movement on the stretch.

Alternative roads

The experts on urban development believe that tollways enable the governments recover the project costs. “But at the same time, a tollway should always have an alternative road,” observes A Ravindra, advisor to the Chief Minister on Urban Development and Infrastructure.

Big cities have the model of alternative roads, he says. “For example, in Bangkok there is an expressway which will help motorists to zip through in 15 minutes if you pay the toll.

But then, there is an alternative road which is winding and takes you through the City and joins the Airport,” he points out.

But, who will take the initiative to build such alternative roads? While the NHAI has amended its rules to levy toll on every road under its jurisdiction, the State government too is trying to recover the costs through its own ‘upgradation’ projects.

So, where is the alternative? Obstacles are there even for the lone effort – the alternative road to the BIA. Whether the project can be replicated along the tolled roads is a big question. But Bangaloreans, particularly those whose pockets aren’t deep enough, would want an answer at the earliest.