A late-night meeting between the ministry and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and concessionaire D S Constructions on Thursday ended with a novel suggestion for the messy toll plaza — if the waiting time at the toll plaza exceeds ten minutes, open the tollgates and let traffic have free access. Road concession agreement experts are bewildered at the suggestion that threatens to twist the established toll rules.

“The concessionaire has been told clearly that passenger interest overrides all other issues. We have told them that if the waiting time at the toll plaza is longer than ten minutes, vehicles should be allowed to pass through immediately to clear the backlog. We have told the DS Constructions to anticipate the extent of a traffic snarl in ten minutes and accordingly mark the highway up to the distance till where queues can be permitted. Once vehicles pile up beyond that line, toll gates will have to be opened,” said a senior official in the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways.

When asked why a commuter should have to wait ten minutes after paying the toll, the ministry said the waiting time at toll plazas varies between five and 15 minutes according to international estimates.

The concessionaire has agreed to implement the recommendation shortly, according to ministry sources.

“While it will be a 10-minute wait for around three months, the concessionaire has assured it will reduce it to seven minutes after 12 weeks. By that time, it is hoped that people will be more disciplined and understand the workings of the toll plaza. The number of smart tag users will also go up by then,” the official added.

A highly placed expert on road concession agreements, however, said the waiting time at international toll plazas are not longer than three to five minutes even during peak hours, and that nowhere in the world is toll related to the waiting duration.

“A 10 to 15 minutes’ waiting time is ridiculous. After all, why should one pay toll if one has to wait so long for toll transaction? The NHAI is squarely responsible for this mess. They should not have allowed commercial operation until they were fully satisfied about uninterrupted traffic flow. They could have easily suspended tolling if the clause is not met with,” said the expert.

There seems to be no answer to the question how the concessionaire was allowed to start tolling if the system was not completely installed and the personnel manning it not sufficiently trained. The concession agreement signed between NHAI and the D S Constructions clearly states as per Clause 18, “safe, smooth and uninterrupted flow of traffic” must be ensured else it is a “material breach of agreement” and not only can tolling be suspended but even the agreement can be cancelled.