Amid mounting protests along the state’s borders with Haryana and Punjab, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday announced a reduction in the proposed entry fee for certain categories of vehicles under the state’s new toll tax policy, hours before it was scheduled to come into effect at midnight.

“We decided to revise the entry fee for five-seater and six- to 12-seater four-wheelers to Rs 100, down from the earlier proposed Rs 130. There was confusion over the entry fee. We brought the five-seaters and six- to 12-seater vehicles under one entry fee. But now we have decided that the entry fee will be Rs 100 on both types of vehicles,” Sukhu told The Indian Express.

The other revised rates remain unchanged.

The announcement comes in the backdrop of protests reported from parts of Punjab and some areas of Haryana adjoining Himachal Pradesh, where concerns were raised over the revised entry tax.

Earlier in the day, speaking in the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Sukhu had assured that the decision regarding the entry tax would be reviewed. He was responding to concerns raised by the Opposition, which also staged a protest both inside and outside the Assembly.

Addressing the House, Sukhu said, “I tried to contact Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, but somehow he did not attend my call. I also communicated with our party’s senior leaders, including Raja Warring and Pratap Singh Bajwa, on the issue of the entry fee. I assured them that the concerns of the people of Punjab will be protected.”

The issue was also raised by BJP MLA from Naina Devi, Balbir Sharma, who said, “The decision of hiking the entry fee has largely been reduced, but a detailed notification is yet to come.”

The revised toll tax policy is scheduled to be implemented from midnight on March 31, with the government now making last-minute adjustments in response to political and public pressure.