FASTag becomes mandatory from Feb 15 midnight: All you need to know
Any vehicle not fitted with FASTag or vehicle without valid, functional FASTag entering into the FASTag lane of the fee plaza will be charged double the toll at electronic toll plazas.
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hindustantimes.com | Written by Kanishka Sarkar, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON FEB 15, 2021 07:31 AM IST
The government has made it mandatory for all four-wheeled vehicles across the country to have FASTags starting February 15 midnight. The ministry of road transport and highways has decided that all lanes in the fee plazas on national highways shall be declared as ‘
FASTag lane of the fee plaza,’ according to a statement.
Any vehicle not fitted with FASTag or vehicle without valid, functional FASTag entering into the FASTag lane of the fee plaza will be charged double the toll at electronic toll plazas, according to NH Fee Rules 2008.
Here’s everything you need to know as FASTag becomes mandatory from tonight
*FASTag, which was first introduced in 2016, has been made compulsory to promote fee payment through digital mode, reduce waiting time and fuel consumption, and provide for a seamless passage through the fee plazas.
*The ministry of road transport and highways had mandated fitment of FASTag in M&N categories of motor vehicles with effect from January 1, 2021.
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What are categories M and N? - Category ‘M’ stands for a motor vehicle with at least four wheels used for carrying passengers while category ‘N’ stands for a motor vehicle with at least four wheels used for carrying goods, which may also carry persons in addition to goods.
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How it works? - FASTag uses radio-frequency identification (RFID), which enables automatic deduction of toll charges at NHAI toll plazas. The tag must be linked with the motorists’ adequately funded prepaid or savings or current account. After the tag account gets active, the motorists can affix the tag on the windscreen of their vehicles. It enables them to drive through toll plazas, without having to stop to pay.
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No deadline extension- Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari has made it clear that the deadline for implementation of FASTag would not be extended further, and the vehicle owners should immediately adopt the e-payment facility. “The government had extended the FASTag registration date limit two-three times before and it would not be extended further. Now, everybody should immediately buy FASTags,” he said on Sunday.
*Gadkari told reporters that FASTag registration has gone up to 90% on some routes and only 10% people are left. FASTag is also available on toll nakas and people should purchase and use it for seamless traffic, he said at the Nagpur airport.
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Complaints- Some motorists on Maharashtra’s Sion-Panvel highway have complained that despite having balance in their accounts, they were not able to pay the toll and end up paying cash while a few others said that even as they make the payment through FASTag, the process takes a longer time, resulting in traffic snarls on the busy highway.
FASTag becomes mandatory from Feb 15 midnight: All you need to know