FASTag in Mumbai, state roads from Jan 1

It will only be from January 1 that FASTag as a mode of ETC will be implemented on two lanes each of the five entry points of Mumbai along with Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link and other state highways by the MSRDC. Considering the heavy rush of vehicles at the toll plazas during morning and evening peak hours, FASTag-enabled lanes will be restricted to two lanes at Mumbai’s entry points initially. FASTag-enabled lanes will be eventually increased to four and five.

RFID-based FASTag will enable motorists to make payments at toll plazas electronically where a scanner will read the tag and automatically deduct the toll from their e-wallets.

In a meeting held last week, all 20 toll operators controlling about 70 toll plazas in the state were asked to initiate the process of equipping the fee plazas with scanners to read FASTags, CCTV cameras to identify vehicle type and make necessary software changes.

R L Mopalwar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of MSRDC, said, “We have set a target of January 1 by when at least two lanes of each fee plaza will have to be equipped with FASTags. All operators have been asked to give an estimated time that they will require for switching completely to FASTags as the process takes time.”

The city has five toll plazas with the one at LBS Marg having six lanes, Vashi 18 lanes, Airoli 16 lanes, Dahisar 18 lanes and Mulund highway 18 lanes. Two lanes of each will be converted into FASTag. Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link has 16 lanes, of which six will be made FASTags. When asked if non-FASTag-enabled vehicles will be fined double the amount as notified by roadways ministry, a PWD official said, “We are yet to take a call on that as in FASTag-enabled lanes, there will be no deployment of manpower.”

The “double toll” as penalty is not the only grey area that the state government has to deal with. “How will the toll amount collected by banks be divided. Will they be deposited to an account of MSRDC or to the operator or concessionaire are issues that have to be looked into,” an official said. Of the 70 toll plazas, 40 are controlled by MSRDC while another 30 are with PWD.

A senior official from MSRDC said, “We are in the process of clearing the work proposal after which work will start.” The cost of equipping two lanes with the required set-up is expected to be around Rs 25 lakh whereas the total cost is expected to be Rs 8 crore.