India's National Highway Authority said on Wednesday that it has decided to cancel the requirement to keep a minimum amount in the FASTag wallet. The aim of this measure is to ensure smooth movement in the electronic toll plaza.
"In order to increase the FASTag penetration to ensure seamless movement of traffic and to reduce avoidable delays at the toll plazas, NHAI has decided to remove the mandatory, minimum amount in the FASTag account/wallet, which was paid by the user in addition to the security deposit for the passenger segment (Car/Jeep/Van)," NHAI said in a statement.
He said the issuing banks were unilaterally demanding a maximum value for the FASTag account/wallet in addition to the amount of the security deposit. As a result, many FASTag users were not allowed to pass through the toll plaza, despite having sufficient balance in their FASTag account/wallet, this leads to unwanted inconvenience and unavoidable delays in public squares. It is decided that users will now be allowed to pass through the fee arena if the balance of the FASTag account/wallet is not negative.
He added that after crossing the fee square if the account balance becomes negative, the bank can recover from the security deposit, which must be renewed at the time of the next recharge by the user. With over 2.54 million users, FASTag contributes 80 percent of total fee collection. Daily Fee Collection through FASTag crossed the Rs 89 crore mark. Since paying tolls through FASTag will be compulsory from February 15, 2021, the National Highway Authority of India aims to achieve 100% cashless tolls on public squares across the country.
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