National highways to accept toll electronically through FASTag from Dec 1

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced that the government will bear Rs 150 security deposit for each FASTag, while people will have to recharge the tags for “top-up” with their own money. The free tags can be obtained from NHAI toll booths.

“We will bear the security deposit amount after which people will have to top up. Of course it will not be given free of cost forever,” he told reporters.

Of around 536 toll plazas, only 17 new ones remain to be fitted with the system to collect toll only through FASTags. In the 17 plazas, operators will be equipped with handheld devices to read FASTags.

The ministry had earlier issued instructions to send out its own officials to toll plazas across India to oversee smooth implementation of the new system on the ground.

Around 27000 km of the total around 1.4 lakh km of national highways are under tolling. Last fiscal, the NHAI collected almost Rs 25,000 crore in toll. FASTags account for around 40 per cent of toll collected right now and the government wants the entire toll collection to come electronically through these RFID tags.