New Delhi, Feb 5 — The Government of India on Thursday informed Parliament that five new toll plazas have become operational in Jammu and Kashmir over the past six financial years as part of the expansion of National Highway infrastructure.
In a written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari said toll collection points are established only on completed highway projects and strictly in accordance with prescribed rules.
“Fee plazas are opened on completed National Highway projects as per the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, and the terms of concession agreements, including distance norms between plazas,” Gadkari said.
He also pointed to a sharp rise in highway construction across the country, including Union Territories.
“Cumulative National Highway construction in Union Territories, including Jammu and Kashmir, has reached 1,874 kilometres during the last six years,” the minister said.
The government rejected suggestions that toll plazas were being opened arbitrarily, stressing that all mandatory conditions must be fulfilled before tolling begins.
Gadkari added that any future toll plazas in Jammu and Kashmir would also be set up strictly in line with statutory requirements and only after completion of relevant projects.