A national association of truckers has offered to pay the central government Rs 20,000 crore every year if the government suspends toll collection across India, in a clearest indication yet of the pain point the toll booths have become in the smooth conduct of commerce in the country.Speaking to Mumbai Mirror on Monday, Amritlal Madan, chairman of the coordination committee of All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), who was part of a delegation which put the proposal before Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on November 18 in Delhi said that, slowed traffic movement due to toll nakas means only 50 per cent of the country’s commercial vehicles are on the roads at any given point of time. “According to our information, the total toll collection in the country in 2015 was around Rs 15,000 crore, we are ready to pay Rs 5,000 crore above that figure,” Madan said.He said that the AIMTC had earlier made the same proposal to Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, but thought the chaos caused by demonetisation of Rs 500 and 1000 notes provided the truckers’ association an opportunity to reiterate its case.AIMTC represents over 90 lakh truckers, and more than 50 lakh bus operators, tourist taxis and maxi cabs. According to AIMTC’s estimates, the transport industry loses over Rs 1,45,000 crore a year due to fuel burnt by idling commercial vehicles at toll booths and the time lost. “We will happily part with Rs 20,000 crore and the government could revise this figure every year, but the losses we are suffering because of toll booths are crippling,” said Madan.AIMTC advisor Bal Malkit Singh said alternatively the government could consider charging a cess on diesel, which will apply only to commercial vehicles.AIMTC made it clear to the finance minister that the transporters were not seeking an exemption for commercial vehicles from toll for the Rs 20,000 crore they were offering to pay, but that they wanted toll collection around the country to be entirely suspended. “Yes, it will benefit private vehicle owners and smoothen traffic on national highways. We would not mind that one bit,” said Madan.A joint study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) and Transport Corporation of India (TCI), a leading transport company, had revealed that the average stoppage expenses per tonne-per km increased 133.33% in 2014-15 over 2011-12.Madan said the government could add a surcharge to the permit fee for each commercial vehicle to cover the loss of revenue from toll booths. He said that the surcharge on permit fee would not only be easy to collect, but it will also make road transport ecosystem more efficient and lower logistics costs.The TCI- IIM-C study titled ‘Operational efficiency of freight transportation by road in India’ had also revealed that less than 10 per cent of toll plazas were equipped with ETC tag reading machines in 2013-14. While the target was to cover all toll plazas with ETC tag readers by 2015, it has not been achieved yet.