1761 population, just 364 homes...: This village has India's richest toll plaza, not located in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, the state is...
Karjan Toll Plaza: Toll plazas are an essential source of income for the roadways ministry as the revenue procured is used for developing roads and other critical infrastructure liked bridges, tunnels as well as maintenance of already existing highways. But do you know that the highest-revenue earning toll plaza in the country is not located in any major city of town, but a tiny village in Gujarat which is home to less than 2000 people? Most profitable toll plaza
The Karjan Toll Plaza, located in Bharthana village in Gujarat's Vadodara district is the highest-earning toll plaza in India, raking in an annual revenue of around Rs 500 crore. The toll booth is located on the crucial NH-48, the only highway that connects Delhi and Mumbai, and reaching up to Chennai in Tamil Nadu, connecting the country's north, west, and southern states.
The NH-48 connects automobile hubs in Tamil Nadu and Haryana, and serves as a gateway to industries cities in Gujarat and the Dahej Port in the Gulf of Kambhat. The Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and the Delhi-Jaipur Highway are located in its northern part, while the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Highway lies in the west of the crucial highway. How Karjan Toll Plaza became a high-revenue earner?
The Karjan Toll Plaza is located on the industrial route between Vadodara and Mumbai, and with Gujarat being a major chemical and petrochemical manufacturing hub, with most units located in the state's central and southern parts which can be accessed only through the Karjan toll booth.
Owing to this, and the movement of goods from Dahej port, over 65% of the vehicles passing through the toll plaza are commercial, including cargo containers, trucks, and tankers, which account for higher revenue compared to private vehicles.
Built in 2009, the Karjan Toll Plaza, is managed by Prakash Asphalting's and Toll Highways (PATH) India Ltd on behalf of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
'The toll plaza has been doing extremely well for many years now. The industries in Gujarat use the route to transport their goods to the ports of Mumbai. Its serves as connecting linking between the north and the south,' says P R Patelia, Scretary, Road and Building Department, Gujarat . FASTag pilot site
The Karjan toll plaza famously served as the test site for NHAI's FASTag pilot project, which formed the basis of the service being launched nationwide.''This has been one of our star toll plazas for a long time. In 2017, the daily toll collection at this plaza had crossed Rs 1 crore,' said SP Sharma, former NHAI General Manager and Project Director.
The toll plaza is operates 24/7 with 190 employees working in three shifts under four managers. Around 80 employees are tasked with collecting toll from vehicles, while 33 employees are deployed in the lanes to help the drivers.
Five employees work in IT, while the rest are tasked with cleaning and maintenance work, according to authorities.
Interestingly, despite the massive rush it witnesses on a daily basis, the Karjan toll plaza rarely witnesses any traffic jams. There are 11 toll lanes on either side of the plaza and FASTag is used for quick checkouts.
Notably, the Karjan Toll Plaza made headlines 13 years ago when former BJP MP Vitthal Radadiya pointed a gun at a toll booth worker following an argument.
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