Toll rates at around 40 plazas in Tamil Nadu on NH roads are set to increase from April 1. 

Plazas, including those at Vanagaram and Surapattu on the Chennai Elevated Bypass, Nallur on the Chennai-Kolkata Highway, and Athur and Paranur on the Chennai-Tiruchi Highway, would see a revision in rates – which is done annually. 

The rates are revised based on the wholesale price index (WPI). Sources in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said that the increase this time was marginal as the WPI had gone up very minimally. The hike is likely to be between ₹5 and ₹25 per vehicle per trip. The NHAI manages around 75 toll plazas, and the rates for the remaining plazas would be revised in September. 

Padmapriya, a resident of West Mambalam, said the annual revision should be done away with. “The Fastag services are a mess in many places. Sometimes, double deductions happen. At times, even if a vehicle did not take a route, deduction happens. People are unable to keep track of what is reduced from the account,” she said. 

CORR rates to go up too 

Meanwhile, toll rates at the four plazas on the Chennai Outer Ring Road too are being hiked.

Consumer activist T. Sadagopan said that the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC), which manages the road, should ensure better patrolling to prevent roaming cattle. Lighting on service lanes can be improved too, he said.

Sources in the TNRDC said that the rates were being increased very marginally.