CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss has requested the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to withhold the toll rate hike until the central government releases the new Toll Policy.

“Of the 78 toll plazas in the State, NHAI has announced an increase of toll rates in 40, including Vanagaram toll, from April 1. It is condemnable to increase the rates when poor and middle-class people are affected due to inflation,” Anbumani said in a statement.

He suggested that charges for any infrastructure should be fixed only based on revenue and expenditure, profit and loss. “It is unfair that toll rates are being increased without any transparency on revenue earned. Toll charges have been collected in Tamil Nadu for about 15 to 20 years. Charges are collected despite the capital for laying roads has been recovered,” he said.

Saying that the new Toll Policy is expected to be released in one week, Anbumani said that the hike will be reasonable only if it is implemented based on the policy. “What is the need for increasing the toll before releasing the policy? In 2023-24, toll collection increased by 35 per cent to Rs 64,810 crore. In 2019-20, the collection was only Rs 27,503 crore,” he said.