India adopts toll-based, access-controlled ring roads to ease urban traffic

India’s road transport ministry announced a new policy requiring ring roads and bypasses to be built as fully access-controlled, distance-toll corridors to keep through traffic flowing and curb urban congestion.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has finalized a revised urban decongestion policy that obliges all new ring-road and bypass projects to be built as fully access-controlled corridors with a minimum four-lane layout and distance-based closed tolling. Designed for a ₹2 trillion, 10,000-km network around 400-500 Indian cities, the plan initially focuses on urban centres with populations above 500,000 before expanding to towns of 100,000 residents and select northeastern and hilly areas.

By charging motorists for the exact distance travelled and limiting entry points, the government seeks to maintain highway speeds of 100-120 km/h, separate long-distance freight and passenger traffic from local movements, and stop unregulated ribbon development that has previously clogged such roads. The policy also requires interchanges spaced at least 5 km apart, service roads for local traffic, and a 15-metre prohibited development zone on either side of the corridor, with possible regulated zones up to 2 km.

Experts from PwC India, Deloitte India and Chaitanya Projects Consultancy caution that without city-specific planning and affordable access, the measures may not fully resolve congestion. State governments will share land-acquisition costs and may use value-capture mechanisms to fund the initiative.