Old speech by Indian minister Gadkari viral with misleading toll tax exemption claim

What is the claim?

A video featuring India’s Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has circulated widely on social media with the claim that individuals living within a 60 km radius of a toll booth are exempt from paying toll taxes. In the video, Gadkari discusses issuing toll passes to local residents based on their Aadhaar cards and mentions that no more than one toll plaza should exist within 60 km; any additional plazas will be closed within three months.

A user on X (formerly Twitter) shared the video (archived here) with the caption: “There is no toll fee payable at any toll booth within 60 km from your home. For this, you will have to pass through with your Aadhaar card. @nitin_gadkari. This is the order of the central government. Why aren’t Narendra Modi ji and other ministers learning from Nitin Gadkari ji? (sic)." The post has garnered over 81,900 views and 293 reposts at the time of publication.

Similar claims are circulating on Facebook. One such post in Assamese states: “If there is a toll gate within 60 km from your house, you don’t need to pay toll tax at that gate. By showing your Aadhaar card, you can cross the toll gate - Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in Parliament (translated from Assamese)." Archived versions of these posts are available here and here.

Screenshot of social media posts sharing the viral video. (Source: Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, our investigation revealed that this is an old video, and Gadkari did not say that those living within a 60 km radius would be exempt from paying toll taxes.

What did Gadkari say?

A reverse image search of the video's keyframes indicates that it dates back to March 2022. Gadkari’s office posted a longer version on X (archived here) on March 22, 2022.

In the video, Gadkari states, “Whoever has an Aadhaar card and if there is a toll, then the pass should be issued immediately after looking at the Aadhaar card. I accept the suggestion; wherever such tolls have been established and where the local people face difficulty, passes will be made based on the Aadhaar card.”

He adds, “There should not be two toll plazas within 60 km on national highways. However, in some areas, there are two toll plazas within this distance, which is wrong and even illegal. If a second toll plaza is found within 60 km of an existing one, it will be closed. We will complete this process within three months.”

Gadkari’s comments focused on issuing toll passes to residents near toll booths based on Aadhaar cards, not on exempting those within a 60 km radius from paying tolls.

News agency ANI also posted (archived here) a screenshot of Gadkari’s March 22, 2022, speech with the caption: “We’ll provide passes to locals with Aadhaar cards who reside near toll plazas. Further, I ensure that there will be only one toll plaza within 60 km; if there’s a second, it will be shut within the next three months: Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in Lok Sabha.”

According to The Economic Times, Gadkari made these statements during a Lok Sabha discussion on his ministry’s grant demands.

Indian state-owned TV channel Doordarshan National uploaded an over one-hour-long video of Gadkari’s speech on YouTube on March 22, 2022 (archived here). The viral clip begins after the 21:40 mark. However, Gadkari does not mention any exemption from toll fees based on residing within 60 km of a toll plaza.

Is there any exemption on toll tax for people residing near toll booths?

The National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, outline toll fee collection guidelines, including the requirement for toll plazas to be spaced at least 60 km apart. The document also details toll charges per kilometer and criteria for setting up toll plazas.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways rules, local residents living within a 20 km radius of a toll plaza are eligible for toll tax exemptions. To qualify, individuals must submit the necessary documentation for verification.

The verdict

While Gadkari discussed issuing toll passes to residents near toll booths, he did not state that toll tax would be exempt for individuals living within a 60 km radius. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, toll tax exemptions apply to residents within a 20 km radius of a toll plaza, not 60 km.