Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that toll plazas at national highways will be removed within a year. During a question-and-answer session in the Lok Sabha, Gadkari said that all toll plazas in the country would be completely removed within a year.
Toll plazas are being replaced by full GPS-based toll collection. In the Lok Sabha, Nitin Gadkari made a statement on “Vehicles Scraping Policy”.
Nitin Gadkari said, “I want to assure the House that within one year all physical toll booths in the country will be removed. It means that toll collection will happen via GPS. The money will be collected based on GPS imaging (on vehicles).”
Currently, 93 percent of vehicles are paying toll using the fast tag, while the remaining 7 percent are claiming to have taken the fast tag even though they are paying a double toll. The minister said orders were passed for an inquiry on the vehicles that did not pay the toll using fast tags. Gadkari said cases of toll theft and GST evasion would be filed if fast tags were not installed on vehicles.
The fast tags system was introduced in 2016 for the first time in the country to facilitate cash payment fees at toll plazas. The Centre mandated a fast tag system for vehicles nationwide from 16 February 2021.