TFP Bureau,Raipur, June 19, 2025: Senior spokesperson of the Chhattisgarh State Congress Committee, Surendra Verma, has strongly condemned the Central Government’s recent announcement of a Rs 3,000 advance Fastag Annual Pass for private car owners, calling it a “robbery” on the common people. Verma accused the Modi-led government of imposing multiple layers of taxation on vehicle owners, increasing the financial burden under various pretexts.
Verma pointed out that despite Gujarat exempting private cars from toll charges altogether, states like Chhattisgarh continue to face heavy toll levies. He highlighted that last year alone, the government collected over Rs 72,000 crore through Fastag, with an annual increase of 10-15 percent since Modi’s tenure began. The spokesperson further criticized the recent 50 percent hike in toll tax rates effective from April 2025, stating that Supreme Court guidelines mandating a minimum 60-kilometer distance between toll plazas are being blatantly ignored. In Chhattisgarh, many toll plazas are spaced less than 30 kilometers apart, forcing repeated toll payments on travelers.
Elaborating on the burden, Verma mentioned hefty road taxes paid at vehicle registration, additional cess on diesel, petrol, and SUVs, coupled with rising toll charges at various plazas — which have surged from earlier rates of Rs 10-40 to Rs 100-250 per toll booth. The Kumhari toll plaza was cited as an example where the toll collection deadline has long expired, yet extortion continues unabated.
Verma accused the BJP and central government of prioritizing revenue over public welfare and facilitating private toll operators in “extortion” through excessive commissions and lax regulation. Highlighting the inconsistency in toll policies, he noted that while Gujarat imposes no toll on private vehicles, states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh witness some of the highest toll collections. With over 1,070 toll plazas nationwide—more than half constructed during the current government’s rule, including 460 in the last five years alone—Verma called this a systematic attempt to “loot the public.”
The introduction of the Fastag Annual Pass, Verma charged, is merely a new means to extract money arbitrarily. He stressed that vehicle owners already bear substantial costs—road tax at registration, fuel expenses, and toll charges on every journey—and that the Rs 3,000 upfront annual pass is unjustified. “Toll expenses now amount to nearly 50 percent of the fuel cost on highways,” he said, adding that travel between Raipur and Mandir Hasaud often costs more in tolls than in fuel.
Verma demanded the government halt what he described as “unjustified robbery” and ease the financial strain on the common people imposed by increasing tolls and related levies.
