[freakmuzik]

I voted NO. Given a very fair law, I would love not to pay though I realise that would only be a dream.

If we change few words in the discussions above, we can apply the same to anything and everything in this country. Tourism, Finance, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Health - you name it.

When a part of the population is corrupt, lacks integrity and grab any opportunity to make a penny even if it is at the cost of another person suffering, what else can we expect? This happens across anything in India. If we look at it in a larger picture, most developing countries face the same issue. There should be something like a 'Human Quality Index' which measures the fairness of citizens & governments of the countries in the world. A law can help keep things in check but can it also make people better? I'm not sure. With such a huge population and most not even being able to meet ends, where rich can easily get MUCH richer, it's sure going to take time for the country to improve itself as a community. Better people, better country, better management and better utilisation of resources.

Until then, whoever can contribute for the wellness of the country should and continue to, or rather, will have to.

Sorry for swaying slightly away from the exact premise of the OP but this is truly what I felt after reading it along with all the responses.

[dark.knight]

I haven't advanced that far yet.

I'm still wondering why we pay Income Tax, Sales Tax, customs and GST.

It just goes into the pockets of the goverment, India would be better off as a barter nation with the public doing everything. No need for faux roads, faux law and faux governance.

[aastiksaluja]

Super NO for roads in Bad conditions. I guess checks and balances, which are highly required in almost every other governance in the country can only ensure such things. I have much better daydream options so this is not going to be the topic of my pleasure time.
Although another aspect to look at regarding tolls is HOW MUCH we are paying as toll tax lately. I have travelled my fair bit around the country- apart from five out of Seven sisters and Odisha & Bihar, I've had a taste of every other state with a mix of great, good and bad patches. But I have this thought every time I drive down my usual hometown route- NH9 from NCR to Uttarakhand.
A stretch of 225 kilometres with the first and last toll coming in less than 200kms and three big ones are under construction, which surely will charge about 150rs more. I have seen the toll swell from around 150 to 345, and with the new Tolls it will definitely cross 500, maybe 600. For a patch of 200kms. to put things into perspective, the famous and finest Delhi Agra expressway charges 415rs for that 205km patch from my place. And there's no comparison whatsoever between these two, or any other patch with that expressway for that matter.

And the current condition of NH9 for my run is a mix of 50% - 10+years of four lanes with their usual wear-tear & 50% under construction patch with lots of lane changes, diversion and traffic condition.
Honestly, this is not a complaint as I think it's still a better patch than many other important routes, and it takes me around 4.5 hours on an average day. But it's about the value for money proposition. Shouldn't there be a cap on toll charges?

[RoadMonkey]

I remember travelling through Baran-Kota highway in Rajasthan which was in an EXTREMELY bad shape. The worst I'd seen a toll highway be. The last few times I travelled on it, the toll was suspended for fastag users as the road repair was underway.

Those of us in/from Punjab have been spoiled by its Highway network, it's a class apart! Bad roads are confined to history as far as highways are concerned. The toll feels more than worth it, whenever travelling.

[roadrunner_nv]

Voted NO!

All those who think that the Pune Mumbai expressway is a good road to drive on needs a check. Just how many roads are audited for driving safety? I don't think anyone gives a rats backside to safety. The road pitches up and down at many places, no proper marking, the stretch from Mumbai has far too many level changes that are not smooth, potholes in the ghat section, improperly repaired patches that lead to vehicles pitching around, truck traffic is not regulated, there are places where vehicles come in the wrong direction (on an e-way), dogs frequently get on to the e-way (one of them collided with my car two weeks ago) and unmarked speed limits for which you are challaned. All this and you still have to wait in line to pay toll.
I'm not even getting to the other tolled roads like the Pune Satara or the Pune Nashik joke ways. MH roads are the worst after paying sky high taxes, tolls, cess, vat, extra cess...the list is endless

I used to fume around a lot till my wife explained that me fuming alone is not gonna do anything. Just be a part of the game and think that you are paying for your sins of being born here..

[matchvan]

Hi all,

This is why I like this forum. Hard working, honest tax payers pouring their hearts out and at the same time hoping that things get better for the generations to come. Hope and pray so.

Part A:
So,
I bought my S-Cross in 2019 and I saved my Tax Invoice. For a base price,
A) Output CGST
B) Output SGST is added.
C) Then 17% cess is added.

Then we arrive at ex-showroom price.
To this ex-showroom price
D) TDS and
E) ROAD TAX is added.

In my case A, B , C, E are approximately 1 lakh each. The money that I used to purchased it is already the income on which I have paid Income Tax. Then why should TDS be collected again? It pains to drive on bad roads after recollecting every time the amount of taxes I/we pay after purchasing a new vehicle with our hard earned money.

P.S: To get to Nanded from Warangal and to skip the dreaded Warangal to Karimnagar 70 km stretch, I take a detour and prefer a route where I encounter 2 Toll Gates. Here I pay toll money worth one litre of diesel. Oh wait fuel Prices have increased. Diesel is not 71 anymore which it was last month.

Part B:
So,
Fuel actually costs.... Needless to say the saga of taxes paid by us repeat.

The Zest:
There ain't nothing as free lunch. We pay tolls and taxes. And hope that somewhere someone among us is driving on better road.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

I don't know how BMW and MPI are relevant to this discussion, as for funds from abroad, what's wrong with working overseas for a better life?

There was an opportunity for the State to progress, grow and many a time they just don't want progress. I can't speak about why the BMW plant was not setup. Had it been, the opportunity for people and growth would have been huge for the State. Another means of revenue for the State rather than over dependence on Road Tax and other means.

Its easy to vote No. Had we not paid our Road Tax, I doubt if https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ads-india.html (The Best Roads In India) would exist.

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Add to that the fact that on most HDIs, KL is on par with developed nations, and you start to wonder what on earth the rest of us pay taxes for.

You can't be serious! My folks built their own garbage recycling pit 20 years ago as they could not get the corporation to come around. Its the same story today.

There are things the State does well and far exceed others. Recognition of Women in the work place being one of them. I appreciate that.

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Interesting to note that people who live abroad denigrate remittances.

Sounds like that was for me. You read my comment wrong. I was highlighting the dependencies the State has. Foreign Remittances being one of them. I don't see that as a bad thing.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

You can't be serious! My folks built their own garbage recycling pit 20 years ago as they could not get the corporation to come around. Its the same story today.

If your reading of Kerala's supposed underdevelopment is based on that, I don't know what to say. Having lived across India - from dusty small towns in the north, to villages in Kerala, I can tell you that most people would give their left arm to have problems that ended with an inactive civic corporation. Kerala's HDI is close to 0.8, higher than China's. India's is 0.645, lower than war-torn Iraq and Palestine. In addition, I've quoted actual economic numbers, where there isn't much to debate.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Sounds like that was for me. You read my comment wrong. I was highlighting the dependencies the State has. Foreign Remittances being one of them. I don't see that as a bad thing.

You are right, I read it wrong. Apologies.

Also, apologies for going off-topic.

[vjbox]

Originally Posted by govindremesh

Hi Bhpians,

This is an annexure to the previously discussed topic : (Supreme Court says NHAI can't collect toll on bad roads) , but this thread is specifically for linking road tax to the quality of state highways and city roads

Oh don’t even get me started since I endured the worst drive of my life when I was returning back from Nagapattinam to Chennai last weekend. Man those state highways are neglected in that entire belt and to add to our misery we took the Panruti route where they were laying the 6 lane highways and that stretch was such a torture to get through. I had just installed a set of brand new tires and was cursing the administration the whole way. I only breathed when we hit the Vikravandi NH for us to blast off towards Tindivanam and Chennai. While our highway infrastructure has largely come a long way and improved, our rural roads aren’t there yet and have zero regard for safety. Night drives in some of these stretches are a nightmare. I had to keep all my senses in full alert when driving between Tiruvarur and Tanjore and one slightest mistake in spotting the turns or deviations you are done for good!

Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

[DriveOnceMore]

I don't know if someone has mentioned this already, but following are the direct / indirect taxes we pay to get such ill maintained roads.

1. GST on car price to (State n Central govt)
2. Road Tax to state RTO (State govt)
3. GST on Insurance premium + servicing + spares + tyres (State n Central govt)
4. Toll collection (almost 1 Rs./KM)
5. VAT and Excise duty on fuels (State n Central govt)
This amount is the biggest contributor that every KM we drive the car we pay from 2 Rs/KM upto 8 Rs/KM (this depends on FE of your car)


As per recent news lot many new highways are being built and records are being made, which is good thing.
But maintenance of those and existing roads remains to be most neglected area.

[handsofsteel]

I started reading this thread as it piqued my interest. Somewhere down the line, I encountered to many abbreviations- BMW (which I mistook for the automobile marquee), MPI, MDR, and so on..
Maybe I have been living under a rock but I am genuinely ignorant of these and the posts then stopped making sense. From a forum that would penalize people for writing ANHC, we have sure come a long way. Could I request the members to kindly use the long hand for uncommon/specialist/colloquial abbreviations?