Pay Double Toll If Your 4-Wheeler Doesn’t Have FASTag From This Date; FASTags Are Compulsory Now

• FASTags are going to be compulsory from the start of next year.
• The rule is made to establish a reliable cashless toll collection system. 

The Ministry of Road Transportation and Highways have been taking newer initiatives and articulating a lot of regulations lately. The most recent one is making FASTags mandatory for all the vehicles in the country from the start of new year. Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari made an announcement regarding the same on Thursday, December 4.

Why Is FASTag Made Mandatory?

According to the union minister the compulsion on FAstags is just going to bring more convenience to travellers. “FASTag will be enforced from January 1, 2021.  it is useful for the commuters as they will not need to stop at toll plazas for cash payments, and that it also saves time and fuel”, Gadkari said in a virtual conference.

“It has also been mandated that a valid FASTag is mandatory while getting a new third-party insurance through an amendment in FORM 51 (certificate of insurance), wherein the details of FASTag ID shall be captured. This shall be applicable w.e.f. 1 April 2021,” he added.

Through this the ministry is trying to establish a system to ensure that no toll is paid in cash. “This would be a major step for ensuring that the payment of fees be 100 percent at toll plazas through the electronic means only and that the vehicles pass seamlessly through the fee plazas. There would be no waiting time at the plazas and would save fuel,” the statement added.

What Other Things Is Government Planning?

Earlier the amendments in Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, made it compulsory for vehicle manufacturers to supply FASTags to all new four-wheeled vehicles from December 1, 2017.

Besides, the fitment of FASTags which was compulsory for National Permit Vehicles earlier has been applied to all transportations wanting the renewal of fitness certificates now.

The government is undertaking physical and virtual measures to make FASTag available on various mediums right now.

Few days prior, Nitin Gadkari also shared his plans of adopting GPS based automatic toll collection system and making India Toll Naka free in the next two years