No Proposal Under Consideration To Extend Deadline For 100 Per Cent FASTag Implementation: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has confirmed that there is no proposal to extend the deadline for complete implementation of the FASTag system that enables hassle-free fee collection on toll plazas at national highways, reports Times of India .

Gadakri informed this while responding to unstarred questions by MPs Dhanush M Kumar, G Selvam, Gajanan Kirtikar, C N Annadurai, and Gautham Sigamani Pon in Lok Sabha.

Gadkari revealed that the penetration of FASTag had reached 73.36 per cent in December 2020. This marks a sharp rise from the 44.31 per cent of the same that was recorded in December 2019.

Moreover, fees worth Rs 2088.26 crore were collected through FASTag in December 2020. Gakari added that the waiting time for vehicles on FASTag lanes had reduced significantly. He added that the waiting time will further improve as the "system gets more operationalised".

FASTag operates on the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and is a part of the government’s National Electronic Toll Collection Program (NETC). It deducts the toll amount from the prepaid or savings account linked to the vehicles and paves the way for hassle-free commute.