The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is considering a plan to raise money from fuel stations located along the expressways by levying a commission on every ltr of petrol or diesel sold.
The MoRTH has to implement Bharatmala Phase-I of 24,000 km, on which Rs 7.5 lakh crore is being spent. The budgetary support has increased from about Rs 78,000 crore to about Rs 83,000 crore which will be used for land acquisition. For the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, the Centre has proposed to give land for setting up petrol pumps along the expressways, and invite tenders based on the extent of commission they will pay per ltr.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also considered levying a certain amount on CNG sold for vehicles -- as more and more vehicles that use the roads start using gas or alternative modes of fuel. Many vehicles in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) -- including cars, cabs and buses -- use CNG as fuel.
NHAI hopes to mobilise Rs 75,000 crore in 2019, as against Rs 61,000 crore in 2018. The funds will be routed to construct various highway projects including Bharatmala Pariyojana.
In this context, NHAI and the National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which will allow NIIF to route international funds to NHAI. As per the broad contours, the two organisations will form a special purpose vehicle (SPV), through which NIIF will route funds to specific projects of NHAI.