The ministry of road transport and highways has laid down the terms and conditions required for a road to qualify as national highway.
In a draft Cabinet note circulated for inter-ministerial consultation, the ministry has proposed that any Central government-owned highway with a minimum of two lanes, a paved shoulder having 15% of carrying capacity will be known as a ?national highway?. Currently, the government has no clear definition of a national highway as any road, which the ministry says is in its domain for maintenance, construction and operation, is a national highway.
The government is also planning to change the criteria for the developer to levy toll. In case of two-lane roads, toll would be allowed only if investment is made for construction of a new lane with a paved shoulder.
Currently, a highway developer is allowed to levy toll if an investment of more than R2.5 crore is made.
The move is a part of the ministry?s idea to rationalise the current toll regime. The new definition and norms are likely to benefit the construction companies, equipment manufacturers and cement companies.
?The road ministry for quite some time has been trying to define the term national highways. If the new definition is approved, it will help in improving connectivity especially in hilly areas, north eastern states and Naxal areas where there are maximum single lane highways,? Rajeev Bhatnagar, CEO, highways at Feedback infra said.
At present, over 50% of highways are single lane.
The ministry has also proposed rounding-off of the toll amount to the nearest R5 denomination, making less-than-10m-wide roads toll-free and limiting a developer to charge only up to 80% of the toll value during conversion of four-lane roads into six lanes.
Further, in case of conversion of one-lane and two-lane roads into four-lane roads, toll can be levied only after the construction is complete.
The move is aimed at cutting down the time spent at toll booths and enabling faster movement of traffic. The proposal to allow
developers to charge only 80% of the toll during the time of construction would build up pressure on them to speed up work.
