The Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra's Cabinet announced on Tuesday that it will make FASTag mandatory for all vehicles from April 1, 2025. The Maharashtra government's major goal with this move is to alleviate traffic congestion at toll plazas, manage fuel usage, and increase transparency in toll control. This regulation ensures applies to both individual and commercial vehicles across the state, while ensure vehicle drivers begin using FASTag on time, as failure to do so can impose double tolls on vehicles without FASTag as a punishment. What is a FASTag? FASTag, a passive RFID-based device, is attached to a vehicle's windscreen, allowing toll payments to be done easily without stopping at toll plazas. The toll is automatically debited from the user's associated prepaid, savings, or checking account and is available from any NETC member bank. The system is part of the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program, which was created by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to ensure interoperability across all toll plazas in the country. This allows cars to utilise FASTag at any toll plaza, regardless of operator and includes clearinghouse services for settlement and dispute resolution. It's important to note that FASTags are vehicle-specific and cannot be transferred to other vehicles and must be refilled regularly if linked to a prepaid account, as an insufficient balance can lead to FASTag being blacklisted, necessitating cash payments at toll plazas.
