MCD begins process anew to select a toll agency for 156 border entry points

New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) initiated a fresh process to engage a new concessionaire to operate all 156 entry points in the city.
The civic body issued an online technical and financial proposal inviting interested developers to collect the toll tax from specified commercial vehicles, in addition to upgrading and modifying toll plaza barriers.
The agency will also collect environment compensation charges from vehicles and deposit it on a weekly basis, stated the e-tender notice issued by MCD recently. The collection will be done through RFID at 13 toll points, handheld devices at 111 toll plazas, and manually or by other modes at the remaining places, the notice added. The last date for submitting proposals is March 24.
The new proposal received approval from the House in Feb. MCD has set a target to generate a minimum annual revenue of Rs 900 crore from the toll tax collector in comparison to Rs 864 crore earned so far. Till Sept 2024, MCD collected Rs 786.6 crore, but considering it is a major source of revenue, the civic body now aims to collect Rs 950-1,000 crore annually.

The proposal suggests allocating the contract for three years, with a provision to extend it for six months. MCD has revised project specifications to attract more bidders, such as changing the condition of having experience in running a minimum of 122 lanes by bidders.
However, the implementation of the project will depend on the formation of the standing committee. The finalisation of the rate and the selection of the agency can be done by the committee, which has not been formed for nearly two years. That’s why the civic body gave two extensions to the current concessionaire after April 10, 2024. “To save the civic body from losses, it is important that the standing committee should be formed soon,” said an official.
MCD is currently taking the toll charges as notified by Delhi govt in 2007. “For taxis, the charge is Rs 100 per trip (without MCD tag) or Rs 3,000 per month (with MCD tag), and for commercial trucks, charges are higher,” said the official.
There were 124 toll points initially, but later 30 more were added, taking the total number to 156. Of the total entry points, RFID is installed at 13 places and handheld devices are used for toll collection at 111 places. On average, 1,05,989 commercial vehicles enter the national capital every day. Of this, around 70,000 vehicles are taxis or cabs.