Bengal gears up to make FASTag mandatory within Dec

Kolkata: The state is gearing up to make FASTag mandatory for vehicles with effect from December 15, in the toll plazas of all national highways in Bengal. It has postponed the date of implementation from the earlier stipulated date of December 1.

The move comes in the wake of the Union government making FASTag compulsory for all the vehicles operating on Indian roads with effect from December 1, 2019. FASTag is the electronic toll collection system innovated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

It has been learnt that at present, vehicles with FASTag in the state are only 25 percent of the total number. There will be camps on the part of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) at different toll plazas, to make people aware of the matter.

"There will be special lane for the vehicles that are not fitted with FASTag. They will have to pay through cash for passing the toll plaza. However, if somebody enters the designated FASTag lane without the tag, he/she will have to cough up twice the toll amount. We will have our employees posted around 200 metres ahead of the toll plazas, who will inform the car drivers about the lane they should take," said a senior official of NHAI in Kolkata.

State Transport minister Suvendu Adhikari also held a meeting with NHAI officials on Friday and asked the latter to ensure that there is no harassment to commuters with the new system of payment being implemented.

It has been learnt that the minister told NHAI that earmarking a single lane for vehicles without FASTag may result in traffic snarl.

"The minister wants no unnecessary chaos at the toll plazas and he has asked the concerned authorities to ensure the same," said N S Nigam, Secretary of the state Transport department. There will be police deployment at the toll plazas as well, for assistance.

FASTag is a sticker that

has to be put on the front

windshield of a vehicle. This sticker becomes the radio frequency identity of the vehicle, which is automatically read by the sensors placed at the toll plazas.

This sticker is linked either to a prepaid account like Paytm or through a bank account. The amount is deducted automatically whenever the vehicle crosses any toll plaza which is RFID-enabled.

This will help the passenger and commercial vehicles pass through the toll booths without halting for paying the toll tax.

FASTags are being issued by 22 certified banks in India and it is also available on e-commerce platforms like Amazon. The certified banks issuing FASTags can charge a maximum of Rs 100 for each tag, as mandated by NPCI.