ECO Task Force, Department of Forest

As per information provided by NHAI (National Highway Authority of India), total number of vehicles passing…

through the three toll plaza’s that is Delhi-Gurgaon Border, Kherkidaula Toll and Airport Toll is 300,000.  Out of which 90,000 vehicles carry Tags with them and rest are provided with paper slips (at the time of crossing the tolls while making the payment) of the size 11.5cm x 7.5cm that comes out to be 85.25cm². If paper slips which are issued to 210,000 passing vehicles are put together in length, then these will spread to around 24150 running meters (24.15 KMs) daily and calculated further on yearly basis, it comes to be around 8814 KMs.

There are approximately 150 toll plazas across the country where these slips are issued while crossing, where we assume that the number of vehicles passing through these plazas are at least 10% of total number of vehicles passing through Delhi-Gurgaon Border. This comes out be 17500 vehicles daily on a single toll plaza. This multiplied with total number of toll plazas comes to be 2625000 (150×17500) vehicles daily and 958125000 vehicles per annum. The paper consumption at all the toll plazas is 8168016 meters² or 1101844 KMs in length.

There are some toll plazas in our country which don’t provide any paper slips at all unless specifically asked for. By doing away with paper slips, you will be doing a great help to save trees and our environment. The added benefit will be savings on the cost of these paper rolls as well as printing and electricity cost in the process. Also this will reduce the waiting time at toll plazas which will save fuel and our foreign exchange, plus will cut on carbon fumes emission which is adding to already chocked environment. Definitely employees will be saving on time while collecting toll from motorists (by not handing back paper slips to them).

In years to come Government plans to add thousands of kilometers of road network across the country with many more toll collection plazas/centers being setup for collection. While constructing these highways we all along cut thousands/lakhs of trees (infrastructure development is a must for developing country like ours) but once that is done, we all are duty bound not to do further damage to our environment, at least by not issuing useless paper slip with no purpose which only comes by cutting more trees.

When the world over we are trying to shun unethical environmental practices issuing these paper slips is a national waste.

To save trees and environment is HARYALI’s main objective, which should be a concern for all of us.

On HARYALI’s part we will join you to educate people about shunning away with this environment degradation. We can also provide small boards/stickers to be pasted at each toll plaza lane which will be indicating that slips will be issued only on demand.

Detail of paper consumed in issuing paper slips by crossing 3 tolls on NH-8 (Delhi-Gurgaon  Border, Kherkidaula Toll and Airport Toll.[/vc_row]

Name of toll

Tag Vehicles

Slip Vehicles

Total

GGN-DLH Border

53000

122000

175000

Kherkidaula Toll

30000

70000

100000

Airport Toll

7000

18000

25000

Total

90000

210000

300000

Size of paper

No. of vehicles on 3 tolls

No. of vehicles with slip

Paper used

Paper length (per day)

Vehicles per annum
(on above 3 Tolls)

Total Tolls in India

11.5cm x 7.5 cm = 85.25 cm2 (one slip)

300000

210000

210000 x 85.25 cm2 = 1790 m2

210000 x 11.5 cm = 24150 Running meter = 24.15 KM

210000 x 365 = 76650000 or 8815 KM

150 Nos (approx.)

If we assume the vehicles on remaining tolls are 10% of Delhi Gurgaon Border Toll then no. of vehicles will be 175000 x 10% x 150 = 2625000 Vehicles/Day and 958125000 vehicles/annum.