New Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India’s (Nhai) failure to put under toll completed stretches of highways has cost the exchequer over Rs1,550 crore per annum.

According to the high-powered committee on infrastructure headed by prime minister Manmohan Singh, highways regulator Nhai could put toll facilities only on 58.7% of 11,037 km of completed highways across the country.

The committee had pointed out that only 6,476 km of highways were under toll.

“The average annual revenue per km from toll (collection) in case of public-funded roads comes to Rs34 lakh,” an official in the Nhai said.

With 4,561 km stretch of completed highways not under toll, the loss amounts to Rs1,550.74 crore.

Sources in the Planning Commission said taking exception to this, the Committee on Infrastructure (CoI) had told Nhai that “loss of revenue needs to be addressed.”

Sources added that Nhai failed to put under toll 37% of completed stretches under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP)- 1 in the fiscal 2008-09.

Only 1,263 km of highways out of a target of 2,003 km for the year could be put under toll while in the previous fiscal (2007-08) it was 1,038 km out of 1,896 km.