The way tolls are being run in the country is leading to huge industrial losses: Industry

New Delhi/Manesar, June 8 (KNN) The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs) will be benefitted if the transporters also pay large sum on the truck insurance against the toll where they s‎tuck for hours causing the losses to the industry and contributing pollution to the environment, said Manmohan Gaind, Vice President of Manesar Industries Welfare Association (MIWA).

His comments came after a joint study carried out by logistics firm Transport Corporation of India (TCI) and IIM-Kolkata which was released by the Union Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari, where they said that delays at toll plaza, additional fuel consumption on account of bad roads and frequent halts are among the main reason that has resulted in the country incurring a loss of Rs 1.4 lakh crore.

Talking to KNN, Gaind said that there is a 100 per cent delay when trucks carrying logistics get stuck in the toll plazas leading to the industrial losses and contributing to the pollution.  "We should have the free tolls."

“Taxes and higher insurance should be imposed on cars to pay for the tolls. The way tolls are being run in this country is causing a lot of fuel wastage and causing lot of pollution," said the Vice President.

He suggested that the government can increase certain tax on every car that is sold or every car that is registered. 

30 Lakh cars get registered every day, if you put certain amount on those cars that can go in payment of tolls.

He opined that certain amount of insurance should be increased, then the insurance company will submit that amount to the government or the toll company. That way the whole effort of collecting toll will go away.

The report also found that for routes covering the eastern and north-eastern parts of the country, average vehicle speeds were lower and average stoppage delays were higher than the corresponding national averages due to poor road conditions, more stops, long queues, delays at border check posts and on-road police intervention. (KNN Bureau)