NEW DELHI: Just two days before the deadline to start mandatory toll collection at highways through FASTags on December 1, the government on Friday extended the date to December 15 “to facilitate sufficient lead time to citizens to obtain FASTag”.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had earlier issued guidelines and a standard operating procedure (SOP) for paying the toll digitally through FASTags.
According to the guidelines, even vehicles exempt from toll under Rule 11 of the National Highways Fee Collection Rules, have been encouraged to purchase FASTags.
“We wanted exempted vehicles also to be included in this category so as to streamline their passage through toll gates. As they will bear the ‘Exempt FASTag’ sticker, they can move through toll gates easily,” a ministry official said.
According to the SOP, there will be hybrid lanes on toll gates for payment for the first two months. In these lanes, both digital and cash payment of toll would be possible.
“After that, vehicles not bearing the FASTags will have to pay double the toll,” the rules stated.
FASTags are available at fuel stations, outlets and e-commerce sites. Auto manufacturers have begun installing the FASTag in new automobiles to streamline the process of procuring the tag.