India’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has sharply criticized the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for allowing toll collection on incomplete or unsafe stretches, warning that the practice undermines public trust and breaches the principle that user fees must reflect services rendered.

In a report tabled this week, the committee, chaired by Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, said tolls are often levied even when highways are under widening or maintenance, with lane closures and missing facilities such as service roads and drainage. The panel called for strict monitoring, penalties on errant concessionaires, and suspension of tolls until stretches are fully developed and safe.

The committee also questioned the policy of perpetual tolling — first introduced in 2008 and reinforced in 2023 — which allows toll collection even after project costs are recovered and concession periods have ended. While rates are adjusted annually through a 3% increment plus partial inflation indexing, the PAC found no independent system to assess whether tariffs are fair or proportionate to maintenance needs.

It recommended creating an independent tariff regulator, similar to the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority, to oversee toll rate setting, revisions and transparency. The body would also decide if tolls should continue beyond cost recovery, and review existing contracts where charges remain in place after the original purpose has been met.

Refund mechanism for poor service

The PAC was particularly critical of the absence of a toll refund framework when promised services are not delivered. Drawing parallels with income tax refunds, it said NHAI should develop an automated system integrated with FASTag to reimburse or waive charges when roads are incomplete, unsafe or closed.

The committee noted that the government’s ongoing push for Multi-Lane Free Flow tolling using AI-based number plate recognition and satellite tracking risks being undermined by persistent operational flaws in the current FASTag system. Frequent scanner malfunctions, poor grievance redressal and the absence of on-site recharge or replacement facilities continue to cause long queues and wrongful deductions.

It urged NHAI to build a real-time performance dashboard tracking traffic flow and queue lengths, ensure banks provide on-site FASTag services, and give local authorities powers to suspend tolls during mass gatherings or emergencies.

Curbing illegal tolls

The panel also flagged cases of unauthorized toll plazas, where private operators illegally collected fees, calling for GPS mapping, geofencing, CCTV and drone surveillance of authorized sites. It recommended publishing an updated public list of legal toll plazas and including anti-fraud obligations in concession agreements.

The PAC concluded that India’s toll regime needs structural reform to balance infrastructure funding with fairness, user rights and operational accountability. Without such changes, it warned, the system risks eroding public confidence and fueling resistance to road user charges.

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