Punjab set for FASTag on state highways too

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 27

With FASTag electronic toll collection becoming mandatory from December 1 across national highways, the Punjab Government is set to extend the system at its 18 toll barriers on state-operated roads.

FASTag is a simple-to-use reloadable tag that enables automatic deduction of toll charges from a linked prepaid or savings account and lets a vehicle owner pass through a toll plaza without stopping for cash transaction. The tag employs radio-frequency identification technology and is affixed on the vehicle’s windscreen.

The Punjab Public Works Department has already sent a related file to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for his approval. Once okayed, the department would sign an agreement with the company entrusted with the electronic tax collection (ETC).

Of the 24 toll plazas on the state-owned roads, the PWD would start the ETC on 18.

PWD Minister Vijay Inder Singla said the Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways had asked the states to enter into an agreement for introducing the ETC on state highways too. After December 1, one hybrid lane will be provided on toll plazas to allow cash transactions for heavy-duty vehicles. Any vehicle minus FASTag will have to pay twice the toll fee if it enters a lane that is ETC-enabled, say rules.