CHENNAI: Nearly 10 months after Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that a GPS-based toll collection system will be introduced on the national highways, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has amended the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules 2008, allowing for the collection of toll fee based on the distance travelled by the vehicle on the NH.
However, no road in Tamil Nadu has yet been identified for implementing the GPS-based toll collection system, and the proposal is still in the preliminary stage, said official sources from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Though the GPS-based system was initially touted to replace the toll plazas on NH, the latest gazette notification of the Union government allows the NHAI to retain the toll plazas on the NH even while implementing the distance-based toll fee system. "A study on collecting GPS-based toll is likely to commence soon in a few routes in other States. We have not received any guidelines on this yet," said an official.
At present, the vehicle user fee is collected only at toll plazas through the FASTag mechanism or cash payments. Users preferring the cash payment are charged twice the original fee.
The National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules amendment states that toll fees can be collected through a "closed user fee collection system", indicating that the user fee can be levied for the actual distance travelled by the vehicle on the NH or expressway.
Gazette notification for the amendment was issued recently. Motorists will not be provided with any local residential pass or concession for commuting on NH, stated the notification. Official sources from the NHAI said that upgrading roads with technical infrastructure for a GPS-based toll fee system will require a detailed study.
"Migration towards this new system may not happen immediately. If it is first implemented on newly-developed NHs or expressways, the existing toll plazas will continue to function for a few more years," explained the official. Tamil Nadu has 56 toll plazas on roads under the maintenance of NHAI.