Guwahati: The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has been urged to launch a comprehensive investigation into what appears to be a significant and unexplained surge in toll revenue at the Galia Toll Plaza at Bijni in Assam’s Chirang district.
The complaint, filed by Rakesh Hazarika, Executive Director of the Centre for Efficient Governance, highlights a staggering 148% increase in daily toll collections following a jurisdictional transfer in July 2023.
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According to RTI replies from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the Galia Toll Plaza, under the jurisdiction of PIU-Guwahati for the first 200 days of 2023 (January 1 to July 19), collected Rs 11.72 crore, averaging Rs 5.86 lakh per day.
However, in the 165 days immediately following the transfer to PIU-Bongaigaon (July 20 to December 31, 2023), the collected revenue soared to Rs 24.01 crore, pushing the daily average to Rs 14.55 lakh.
NHAI has attributed this dramatic rise solely to routine annual revisions in toll rates, but has reportedly failed to provide any supporting traffic volume data or audit reports to justify such a substantial increase.
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“This is a matter of public money. Either someone under-collected earlier or someone is inflating figures now. Either way, it demands investigation, and this investigation needs to include all the operational toll plazas under NHAI Regional Office Guwahati,” said Rakesh Hazarika.
Hazarika’s petition to the CVC characterizes the discrepancy as a potential indicator of financial irregularities, revenue leakage, or data manipulation.
It calls for a thorough audit of the Galia Toll Plaza’s operations, an investigation into the handover processes between the two PIUs, and accountability from any NHAI officials or contractors found to be involved.
The issue carries significant public interest, as toll revenue is directly linked to the funding of road infrastructure and the overall fiscal integrity of the nation.
The Centre for Efficient Governance has previously raised concerns about toll collections in Assam, having disclosed in November 2024 that NHAI collected Rs 452.22 crores from nine toll gates in Assam during the calendar year 2023, with Galia Toll Plaza accounting for Rs 24.01 crores of that total. Prior to this, in 2022, Galia Toll Gate collected Rs 33.14 crores.