Highway Jottings-4
Gujarat vs Rajasthan.
No. We are not talking about the Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals IPL duel over the past few seasons.
Rajasthan Royals are into the IPL Playoff in the 17th edition of IPL, which is currently underway, and Gujarat Titans are nowhere in sight. Notwithstanding the outcome of the playoffs and the finale on May 26, there is one tug of war staged on the 22-foot lengthy rectangular yard Gujarat has triumphed over its northern neighbour.
From March 2023 to March 2024, the Bharthana toll plaza in Gujarat consistently held the top position in toll collection, except for March 2024. This is significant as it was the only month when the Shahjahanpur toll plaza in Rajasthan managed to secure the number one spot, showcasing a clear competition between the two.
During the same period (March 2023-March 2024), the Shahjahanpur toll plaza had an interesting journey. It held the №2 position for eight months — March 2023 to October 2023, then slipped to №3 for three months — November, December 2023 and January 2024. However, it regained its №2 slot in February 2024 and finally, in the last month of the financial year 2023–24, March 2024, it overtook the Bharthana toll plaza to claim the number one position.
In terms of collection, the difference between these two toll plazas was Rs.8 million: Rs.366.9 million for Shahjahanpur, as against Rs.359.3 million for its Gujarat rival.
The Gharonda toll plaza in Haryana had a mixed performance. It occupied the second slot between November, December 2023, and January 2024. However, it was pushed to the sixth slot in February 2024, only to regain the №3 position the next month. This fluctuation in rankings adds an interesting element to the data.
Barajore Toll Plaza in Uttar Pradesh occupied the third slot in five months (March-June 2023 and February 2024) before pushed down the ladder to the fifth position.
Eight of the top 10 toll plazas (value-wise) are spread across the states of Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, showcasing the geographical diversity of the toll collection landscape.
Interestingly, West Bengal’s Jaladhulagori toll plaza also makes an appearance on this list, highlighting the comprehensive nature of the study. It slipped to №7 in October 2023 (Puja holidays?) but quickly regained its momentum in subsequent months to reach the fourth slot in March 2024. Otherwise, it maintained a steady position between slots 4 and 5 during the period under scrutiny.
Devanahalli toll plaza in Karnataka is the №1 plaza in terms of volume during the same period under review and could bag slot no.10 for most of the period (April-May 2023, October-December 2023). Twice (May 2023 and January 2024), it occupied №9 before slipping to the tenth slot in March 2024.
According to the Indian Highway Management Company Limited (IHMCL), which has been publishing traffic data since 2022, collected data from 946 toll plazas of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Akhilesh Tilotia and Akshata Kalloor of The National Investment & Infrastructure Funds Limited, who meticulously compiled the data in their recent study, acknowledge that at least 2% of toll collections may be in cash. They assure that this would have a negligible impact on the overall study, emphasizing the robustness of their analysis.
The study, which gathered inputs for 814 toll plazas, provides a comprehensive overview of the toll collection landscape between March 2023 and March 2024. The exclusion of data from the remaining 132 toll plazas is due to the non-availability of latitude-longitude data or because IHMCL now captures the data, underscoring the thoroughness of the study.
TO READ THE HIGHWAY JOTTINGS Series, CLICK the following links:
