Central Government Notifies User Fee Rates for Poanta Sahib to Jhajra Chowk Section of National Highway 7

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a statutory notification on September 25, 2025, to establish the levy and collection of user fees for the four-lane section of National Highway No. 7, formerly known as National Highway 72. This legislative instrument, designated as S.O. 4414(E), pertains to the stretch connecting Poanta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh to Jhajra Chowk in Uttarakhand, covering a total distance from design chainage (the cumulative distance measured along the center line of a road) km 0.000 to km 36.240. The Central Government previously entrusted this specific highway stretch to the National Highways Authority of India under the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988. The notification authorized the Authority to collect fees either through its own officials or through a designated contractor, effective from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

The fee collection is centralized at a single fee plaza located at km 13.400 of National Highway 7, situated near Shahpur Kalyanpur Village within the Dehradun District of Uttarakhand. The fee structure is categorized based on the type of mechanical vehicle, ranging from light motor vehicles such as cars and jeeps to heavy construction machinery and oversized vehicles with seven or more axles. The notification specified that the total fee payable is a composite of charges for the net road length, specific bypasses, and major structures. The net road section length for which the fee is applicable is 14.070 km, excluding the lengths of bypasses and major structures.

The legislation provided: “the Central Government hereby levies the fee at the rate specified in column (2) of the Table 1 for net road section length of 14.070 km Table-2 and for equivalent structure length (having length more than 60m) of 14.360 km (having length of 1.436 km Table-4) and at one and half times the base rate for bypasses having length of 19.534 km Table-3 costing rupees ten crore or more”

The policy rationale for this notification is rooted in the recovery of the estimated capital cost of the project, which is approximately Rs. 1646.22 crore. This cost encompasses various infrastructure activities, including land acquisition, utility shifting, and the construction of the four-lane highway. The statutory framework for this levy is derived from Section 7 of the National Highways Act, 1956, read in conjunction with the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. To address the higher costs associated with significant infrastructure, the notification utilized an equalization factor for structures exceeding 60 meters, such as major bridges and vehicular underpasses (VUPs). The actual length of these structures, totaling 1.436 km, was converted into an equivalent road length of 14.360 km by multiplying the physical length by ten for the purpose of fee calculation.

The notification also addressed specific socio-economic considerations through concessions and enforcement mechanisms. A monthly pass for the year 2025-26 was set at Rs. 350 for individuals who own non-commercial mechanical vehicles and reside within 20 kilometers of the fee plaza. Furthermore, commercial vehicles registered within the Dehradun district, excluding those with National Permits, are eligible for a 50 percent discount on the specified rates, provided no alternative or service roads are available for their use. To protect the integrity of the highway, the notification mandated that any vehicle loaded beyond the permissible limit must pay a penalty fee as per the 2008 Rules and will be denied entry until the excess load is removed. The National Highways Authority of India is required to revise these rates annually and maintain a transparent record of the capital cost recovery through the realized user fees.

Keywords: National Highway 7, NHAI, Toll Notification, User Fee, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, MoRTH, Road Infrastructure, Dehradun, Poanta Sahib

Geo Tags: India, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh
District: Dehradun