Highway toll: Fee suspension extended till Dec 2, Rs 500 allowed till Dec 15

The government on Thursday extended the suspension of toll collection on all national highways till December 2 midnight.

“Toll suspension is extended till 2nd December midnight across all National Highways,” Union minister of road transport & highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari tweeted on Thursday.

However, after fee collection resumes on December 3, the scrapped Rs 500 notes will be accepted at toll plazas until December 15.

Earlier in the day, the government had suspended toll collection till December 1.

“For smooth traffic movement across all National Highways, toll collection has now been suspended till mid-night of December 2,” a road ministry official said.

Sufficient swipe machines will be installed at toll plazas with help from SBI and other banks, the official said.

Instructions have been issued to all operators and fee collection agencies about the extension.

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes to tackle corruption and black money, the government had on November 9 said no toll fee would be collected on National Highways till November 11 mid-night. It was later extended to November 14, then November 18 and later to November 24.

The government’s earlier decision to accept the withdrawn notes at the toll plazas led to chaos in the absence of adequate change, causing massive traffic snarls.

On November 22, the government had also extended the suspension of vehicle parking charges at all airports till the midnight of November 28.

Even, the Indian Railways have waived off service charges for ‘e-tickets’ and ‘i-tickets’ booked through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) till December 31.