In 2020, there was a loss of over ₹150 crores in toll plazas, but there is no official evidence to prove a loss of ₹2,000 crores in revenue.
Officials told the Hindu on November 19, 2020, that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) lost over ₹150 crores in revenue due to farmer's protests at toll plazas in Punjab. In protest of three government farm legislation, farmers in Punjab held sit-ins at toll plazas since October 1, 2021. R. P. Singh, NHAI regional officer (Chandigarh), stated that Punjab has 25 toll plazas on national highways. The loss from all toll plazas in Punjab was estimated to be around three crore rupees each day.
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari responded to a Lok Sabha question in February 2021 about the revenue of toll plazas since the protest. The Hindustan Times reported that some fee plazas are non-operational due to farmers' protests, and the NHAI cannot collect user fees from road users. A daily remittance loss of around ₹1.8 crores is predicted in the case of public-funded charge plazas. According to credit rating agency ICRA, the farmer's protest resulted in a loss of about a billion rupees in toll receipts across Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi-NCR, putting nearly a billion rupees in debt at risk.
Gadkari told The Indian Express in March 2021 that as of the 16th of the month, revenue losses due to toll plaza closures totaled ₹487 crore in Punjab and ₹326 crore in Haryana. He also stated that no revenue losses were documented due to farmer protests in other states.
There are no official statements by NHAI which discuss a loss of ₹2,000 crores in toll plazas over the year due to farmer protests.
Copied!