In a key judgment, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to reduce toll charges by 80 per cent at two toll plazas on the Pathankot-Udhampur stretch of NH-44 due to poor road conditions and ongoing construction.
Toll cut ordered at Lakhanpur and Bann plazas
A division bench of Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice M A Choudhary, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), ordered NHAI to collect only 20 per cent of the existing toll charges at Lakhanpur and Bann plazas. The order is effective immediately and will remain in force until the highway is fully operational.
The court observed that commuters cannot be expected to pay full tolls when the road infrastructure is damaged or incomplete. “Tolls are meant for providing quality road infrastructure. If the road is in poor condition, it is unfair to continue full toll collection,” the court said.
The court also ruled that no toll plaza should be set up within a 60-km stretch on the highway. It directed that existing toll plazas violating this norm in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh be removed within two months.
The bench noted that there should not be a “mushrooming of toll plazas” in the Union Territories with the sole purpose of revenue generation at the expense of the public.
The PIL, filed by Sugandha Sawhney, stated that 60 to 70 per cent of the Pathankot-Udhampur highway has remained under construction since December 2021. Despite that, toll collection continued, in violation of guidelines which state that tolling should begin only within 45 days of project completion.
Highway reduced to single lane: NHAI
The court took note of NHAI’s submission that large sections of the highway have been reduced to a single lane due to construction work. It also observed the presence of potholes, diversions and damaged stretches that hinder safe travel.
The court referred to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari’s remarks at a global workshop in June 2024, where he said, “There is no justification for charging toll if roads are not in good condition.”
The court’s ruling is expected to set a precedent for similar cases where highways remain under construction and tolls are collected in full. NHAI will now be required to align toll collection with actual road conditions.
