Starting February 15, Monday, the FASTag electronic payment system at the toll nakas will be mandatory for all vehicles after the earlier deadline of January 1, 2021, was extended. The Union minister of road transport Nitin Gadkari too made it clear on Sunday that no more extension will be given for FASTag implementation at the toll nakas across the country.
“After several extensions, we have now decided to not give another deadline. FASTag will come into force from Monday as decided. To ensure seamless traffic, we have decided to sell tags at toll plazas,” said Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari at Nagpur on Sunday. The FASTag technology helps in seamless collection of toll without the need to stop the vehicle at the toll plaza. The sticker of FASTag is stuck at the windshield of the car and deploys Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to collect tolls. The RFID technology is indigenously developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The code in the FASTag sticker is detected using the RFID technology at the toll plaza that helps the payment of toll by the vehicle.
Sagar Abnawe, who regularly travels to Kolhapur for work, at Khed Shivapur toll naka said, “I have two cars, one has the FASTag in place, but another doesn’t have it. Till now I was paying cash at toll nakas or it would get deducted from the FASTag of the car. Now if I drive with another car which does not have the FASTag, I would have to pay double the toll, so I am thinking of getting it done immediately.”
{{/usCountry}}Sagar Abnawe, who regularly travels to Kolhapur for work, at Khed Shivapur toll naka said, “I have two cars, one has the FASTag in place, but another doesn’t have it. Till now I was paying cash at toll nakas or it would get deducted from the FASTag of the car. Now if I drive with another car which does not have the FASTag, I would have to pay double the toll, so I am thinking of getting it done immediately.”
{{/usCountry}}Rohan Nalawade, who was travelling to Mumbai via Pune-Mumbai expressway, said, “I have not got the FASTag issued for my car and today, I had to wait for more than half an hour in the cash queue at the Urse and other toll nakas on the expressway. There should be lanes for FASTag and cash at the toll nakas, as it is not possible to have 100 per cent FASTag cars in place immediately from February 15. I would try to get it done next week as it is compulsory now.”
Suhas Chitnis, Pune project director of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), said, “There is a penalty for every vehicle which does not have FASTag in place from February 15, so we appeal to all vehicle owners to get it issued immediately to avoid penalties. The earlier deadline was extended so that people would get it done.”
Sanjay Jadhav, superintendent of police, Highway State Police (HSP), Pune, said, “As FASTag is now compulsory at the toll nakas for all the vehicles from Monday, there might be long queues of vehicles. Our highway traffic policemen will ensure that the traffic movement is smooth and they will clear the rush as early as possible.”
Major toll nakas
There are two major toll nakas around Pune city of the 30 toll nakas on the National highways in Maharashtra. One at Khed Shivapur on Pune – Bengaluru (NH 48) highway and another at Urse on the Pune-Mumbai expressway. Private players of banks and online payment services have installed temporary FASTag booths nearby toll nakas for the public to buy it on the spot.