High Court Orders NHAI To Immediately Stop Collecting Toll From 'Bad/Under Construction Highways'
Highway expansion work is currently underway in different parts of the country. We have seen several videos and images of new highways under construction on the internet. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is responsible for developing and maintaining these highways, and they also set up toll plazas on them. However, the condition of some highways is not great, yet that is not stopping the authorities from collecting tolls.
The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, in a recent hearing, stated that if a highway is in bad shape “due to different nature of construction activities,” NHAI or its concessionaire cannot collect toll from the public.
The court made this remark while hearing a PIL regarding the Pathankot-Udhampur stretch of NH-44. The bench, consisting of Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice M.A. Choudhary, ordered NHAI to collect only 20 percent of the toll at two toll plazas—Lakhanpur and Bann—until the highway from Lakhanpur to Udhampur is fully operational. The court directed the immediate implementation of this order.
The High Court also instructed the National Highways Authority to ensure that no toll plaza is constructed within 60 km of NH-44. Additionally, the court ordered the removal of any such structures built for toll collection within two months. The court further stated, “There should not be a mushrooming of such plazas in the two UTs solely for the purpose of minting money from the general public.”
NHAI’s Response
NHAI submitted a report to the court stating that, due to the different nature of construction in this stretch, service roads and diversions were provided to commuters. This means that the four-lane highway in most places has been reduced to a single lane.
While NHAI has the authority to reduce the user fee or toll on an unfinished or under-construction highway, it has rarely exercised this power. Poor road quality, lack of maintenance, diversions, and long queues at toll plazas have caused significant inconvenience to road users. Despite these hardships, commuters are still forced to pay the full toll fee without receiving the expected benefits.
The PIL, which the High Court recently reviewed, was filed by Sugandha Sawhney. She sought an exemption from toll charges at the Lakhanpur, Thandi Khui, and Bann plazas on the national highway from Pathankot to Udhampur. The complainant argued that construction is ongoing on this stretch as part of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway project.
The court also stated,
This is based on the principle that tolls are collected to provide users with the benefit of well-maintained infrastructure. If the highway is in a deteriorated condition and uncomfortable to drive on, it is unfair for commuters to continue paying tolls. Rather, this constitutes a violation of fair service. Certainly, commuters and drivers must feel frustrated by the poor state of this highway that they are paying to use. The basic premise is that tolls should serve as compensation for road users in exchange for smooth, safe, and well-maintained highways.
The petitioner submitted to the court that approximately 60% to 70% of the highway's construction work has been pending since December 2021. Despite this, NHAI continues to collect tolls at Lakhanpur, Thandi Khui, and Bann plazas. As per regulations, the agency can only begin collecting toll fees from users within 45 days after completing the project or a section of it.