Economic
Highlights
New Delhi, 16 September 2019
Toll Tax Extortion
MEGA SCAM SINGES
ECONOMY
By Shivaji Sarkar
It is time, rather most opportune time, to do
away with road toll and review the levy of infrastructure cess of Rs 9 per
litre. With massive swindling of toll money, non-deposition of collected funds
with IL&FS and NHAI, it has developed into the largest of the scams. A moot
question is: why the toll is being continued despite exposure of mega bungling?
On an average NHAI collects Rs 60 to 65 crore
as toll every day -- Rs 23625 crore a year is the modest assessment. Besides, over
Rs 2.5 lakh crore a year is collected from infra cess on petrol. The issue is
serious as despite massive collections or extortions from the common man the
economy is showing no sign of improvement. The International Monetary Fund and
Asian Development Bank have estimated fall in growth.
The IL&FS funding for the road projects
lost Rs 91,000 core as per official estimates as the concessionaires who were
supposed to pay back through toll collections did not do so. It has affected a
number of banks, non-banking organisations and others.
The issue of NHAI losses reportedly has
singed one of the highest offices and has taken toll of a senior most
bureaucrat, who protested. It is said that he not only wanted a probe but also
a review for giving up the highway toll. The PMO is said to have asked the NHAI
to discontinue construction of road and monetise assets.
Former NHAI Chairman Brijeshwar Singh has said
that the authority is piling a huge debt of Rs 1.78 lakh crore up from Rs
40,000 crore in 2014. Another top official has said that NHAI is totally log jammed
by an unplanned and excessive expansion of roads and it is mandated to pay much
higher cost for land acquisition and construction.
According to the Ministry of
Finance’s revenue collection estimates, the Centre collected over Rs 2.579-lakh
crore by levying cess and taxes, on the petroleum products in FY19. This is a
massive jump from the gross revenue collection of around Rs 88,600 crore in
2013/14. In FY18, the collection was Rs 2.016-lakh crore.
The latest NHAI bid offer is of
Rs 1.75 lakh crore. A simple question is where is this massive collection from
cess going to? Since the cess collection at Rs 9 now, during the five years is
about Rs 10 lakh crore, where is the need for NHAI to set up a non-transparent,
if not corrupt, toll system? Who do they want to feed?
There is yet another irrational annual
raise of 5 to 10 per cent in toll rates. It is estimated that average toll
rates have gone by 250 per cent in nine years. Logically, every year toll
should get reduced as the cost is progressively recovered. This apart, misbehavior
at toll plazas almost regularly leads to law and order situations. Recently, at
a toll plaza in Ghaziabad on NH 91, a commuter was charged over Rs 11 lakh on
his credit card. Luckily, he did not have the limit. Plus, such roads must be
traversed by ministers to see how dilapidated is that highway like most others.
The Government’s audit
departments have raised objection to many toll practices. The crowded toll
gates cost Rs 87,000 crore a year, including additional fuel cost of Rs 60,000
crore, to the nation in time lost and additional fuel expenses, according to an
IIM, Kolkata study in 2011-12. It is more than the toll collected a year.
The IIM conducted the survey on
17 routes, including, Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Bengaluru. On an average for a journey of 2000 km six
hours are lost at toll gates. There has been little improvement since. The toll
gates remain chaotic despite the so called RFID tag. At many gates these do not
work and manual clearance cause long jams.
According to NHAI, commuters can
pass a toll plaza free of cost, should they spend 2 minutes and 50 seconds in
the queue. There is total waiting time of 3 minutes. But if one insists on it
at a toll gate, it would be a miracle if he can save his life from the
concessionaires’ goons.
The ministers often say the
greatest untruth that roads could not be built unless people pay. The reality
is people are paying everyday in the name of infrastructure cess of Rs 9 per
litre or Rs 90 per ten litres on petrol. They pay exaggerated toll tax at every
gate. Each toll payment is at least 60 per cent more than it should be. At each
toll gate one wastes a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes leading to additional fuel
cost and time.
For instance, before the toll was
levied on Delhi-Jaipur highway, it would take approximately six hours to
travel. Now it takes not less than seven hours. And if it is Ghaziabad-Aligarh,
it takes not less than three hours. None of the roads have the normal quality.
Recently, the NHAI has been
slapped a fine of Rs 750 crore in an arbitration case, which requires the
authority to pay West Haryana Highways Projects, a private company that widened
the National Highway between Delhi and Haryana border connecting Rohtak. The
total cost of the project was Rs 586 crore. The developer also charged Rs 4
crore for supposed loss post demonetisation. It is strange when the entire
nation suffered most developers got handsomely paid by the NHAI. The developer
did not even pay the engineers employed by it and that cost was added to NHAI
costs.
During demonetisation, the NHAI
paid Rs 922 crore for supposed loss. It appears that it has not been managing
its affairs properly and public money is being swindled away. According to
NHAI, the concessionaires do not pay almost one-third of the collections. In
other words, its losses are gains for concessionaires. Since most toll gates
are managed by influential people and a sizeable contribution goes to various
poll funds, nobody wants to do away with a cash cow. Governments apparently
ignore the inflationary effect of the high, irrational toll taxes because it
benefits those close to power.
Rationally as tolls are
developing into large scams and about Rs 2.5 lakh crore are being collected a
year through infra cess, the government should do away with all toll
collections and remove the toll gates. It would be a great saving, pace up
movement and lubricate the economy. Of late, the PMO has taken note of the NHAI
irregularities. The country should hope that better sense will prevail and sane
decisions will be taken.---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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