Delhi: 80% commercial vehicles using RFID tags to enter the Capital, say SDMC officials

Civic officials said it will have a marked effect on reducing pollution in the city, especially during winter, as the technology has resulted in shorter queues at toll booths.

New Delhi: The number of commercial vehicles using the radio frequency identification (RFID) system to enter the city has gone up to 80%, with officials of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) claiming that it will have a marked effect on reducing pollution in the city, especially during winter, as it has resulted in shorter queues at toll booths.

The RFID tags, which are pasted on the windshield of vehicles, allows automatic deduction of toll tax and environment compensation charge (ECC), and does away with the need for vehicles to halt at toll plazas. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

“We had been carrying out dedicated drives over the past two months to make vehicles comply with RFID, more so because winter is near. As a result, now vehicles paying toll fee using RFID has touched 80%, up from around 25% over the last year because of the ongoing pandemic. This will go a long way in reducing pollution in the city. While most drivers had got tags, they were lax in recharging it,” said a senior corporation official, who didn’t wish to be named.

Every winter, air pollution in Delhi rises to hazardous levels owing to a combination of factors, including adverse weather conditions, vehicular and dust emissions, waste burning, and fumes from crop stubble burning in neighbouring states. The RFID tags, which are pasted on the windshield of vehicles, allows automatic deduction of toll tax and environment compensation charge (ECC), and does away with the need for vehicles to halt at toll plazas.

Officials said that 509,938 RFID tags have been sold so far since 2019, when the system was implemented in the national capital.

Officials said they are issuing 100-150 challans to errant vehicles on a daily basis. “Also, we have written to the Delhi transport department to cancel permits of vehicles that are repeatedly defaulting. They are working out a strategy for the same,” the official said.

Civic officials said that an estimated 100,000 commercial vehicles enter the city on a daily basis. “Of this, approximately 12-14% are heavy duty vehicles such as trucks that are liable to pay ECC. Around 50% are taxis including private cab aggregators. Then there are other vehicles such as tempos, goods carriers etc as well as CNG vehicles,” the official said.

Special teams have been deployed by the civic body at the toll plazas for monitoring and better enforcement.

Since March-end this year, all the 124 toll plazas have been equipped with the RFID system.

RFID system was introduced to decongest city borders and smoothen traffic movement so as to cut down air pollution.