Average daily FASTag collection crosses ₹100 crore-mark: Nitin Gadkari

The average daily toll collection through FASTag has reached ₹100 crore daily, Parliament was informed on Monday.

The government has made FASTags mandatory from February 15 midnight and any vehicle not fitted with it will be charged double the toll at electronic toll plazas across the country.

"As on 16th March 2021, more than 3 crore FASTags have been issued. The average daily fee collection through FASTag is more than Rupees 100 crores from 1st March 2021 to 16th March 2021," Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Minister Nitin Gadkari told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

The government has mandated the fitment of FASTag in all M and N categories of motor vehicles with effect from January 1, 2021, through the amendment in Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, he said.

Category 'M' stands for a motor vehicle with at least four wheels used for carrying passengers and 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.

To promote fee payment through digital mode, provide for a seamless passage through the fee plazas, increase transparency, reduce waiting time and pollution, the government has declared all lanes of fee plazas on National Highways as 'FASTag lane of the fee plaza', effective midnight of February 15th/16th, 2021, the minister said.

The fitment of FASTag is a necessity under Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989, he said, adding as per National Highway Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, the user of the vehicle not fitted with "FASTag" or vehicle without valid, functional "FASTag" has to pay double the applicable fee upon entering a FASTag lane at the fee plaza.

User fee on National Highways is collected as per National Highway Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008.

Presently, fee collection is based on an open tolling system, Gadkari said.

However, user fee collection based on actual National Highway usage is also being done in certain access-controlled expressways and highways, he said.