The government is considering an extra 50 paise cess on every litre of diesel to fund its highways. The proposal, expected to raise around Rs 2,250 crore (Rs 22.5 billion), would be sent to the Cabinet soon, officials said.
The government collects Rs 1.50 per litre of diesel to fund its highway-widening programme.
Half the amount collected through the new cess would fund rural roads and the other half would be used for highways, an official said.
Of the Rs 58,000 crore (Rs 580 billion) needed for the National Highways Development Programme, Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) was to come from the cess.
The widening of 2,395 km of highways -- the programme's first phase -- is complete. Work on the 3,368 km Golden Quadrilateral, which will connect the four metros, is on.
According to the officials, of the 7,300 km North-South (Srinagar-Kanyakumari) and East-West (Silchar-Porbandar) corridors, 565 km are already four-lane highways and work on another 433 km is on. This part of the programme is due to be completed by 2007.
The extra cess will not only fund these corridors but the new Pradhan Mantri Bharat Jodo Pariyojana, an ambitious Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) project to connect all major cities that are not covered by the National Highways Development Programme. Around a fifth of the cost will be borne by the Centre.
The project involves widening 10,000 km of road stretches to four lanes. The stretches have been chosen for traffic carried, connectivity of state capitals with national highways and for tourism and economic activity.
© 2025