The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has achieved a substantial saving of ₹2,062 crore in toll collection costs during the financial year 2024–25, reflecting a major improvement in efficiency and transparency across its tolling operations.
According to official data, the cost of toll collection at public-funded plazas decreased from ₹4,736 crore in FY 2023–24 to ₹2,674 crore in FY 2024–25 — a reduction of nearly 44 percent. Consequently, the cost of toll collection as a percentage of total toll revenue fell from 17.27 percent to 9.27 percent during the period.
In FY 2023–24, toll agencies collected ₹27,417 crore, of which ₹22,681 crore was remitted to NHAI. The following year, the total collection rose to ₹28,823 crore, with remittances of ₹26,149 crore to NHAI.
NHAI attributed the savings to a series of operational reforms and improved contract management. These included closer monitoring of contracts, removal of the provision for a three-month deemed extension, timely bidding processes, and limiting contract durations primarily to one year while minimising short-term three-month contracts.
Additional measures included restricting contractors with premature termination requests from rebidding for the same plazas, and allowing only three such termination requests per financial year. The authority also engaged regularly with the All India User Fee Collection Federation to address challenges faced by toll collection agencies, instilling confidence and encouraging broader participation in toll bids.
Steps such as the timely release of performance securities and bank guarantees further strengthened the financial capacity of tolling agencies, resulting in higher bid amounts. To maintain fairness and prevent undue profits, NHAI also introduced a Windfall Gain Clause allowing termination of contracts if the 15-day moving average of toll collection exceeded 40 percent of the remitted amount.