Over 85 per cent of vehicles have FASTag: National Highway Authority of India

VISAKHAPATNAM/VIJAYAWADA: Mandatory electronic toll collection at toll plazas under FASTag system, which was postponed on January 1, will be enforced from Monday. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) project director for the three north coastal districts P Shiva Sankar on Sunday said 85 to 90 per cent of four-wheelers and heavy vehicles in Andhra Pradesh have FASTags, owing to sustained campaigns and special drives.

“There may be a problem for the remaining 10 to 15 per cent that do not have the tags. Till now toll collection from non-FASTag vehicles at the toll plazas were being allowed only on two lanes.”

There are 24 toll plazas in the state, seven of which are between Anakapalle in Vizag and Itchapuram in Srikakulam, he said.

“Nodal officers have been appointed at all the plazas, and four marshals will man each lane to enforce the toll collection under the new system.” The marshals will identify the non-FASTag vehicles, and make them take the tags. If vehicles enter the lanes without FASTag, double the toll charge will be levied.

He added dry runs were conducted for two hours in the morning and evening at every tollbooth for the last six weeks, and 1,000 tags were issued to the vehicles in a period of 24 hours at Natavaram last month. 

If the vehicles with the tags have no balance left on their FASTag accounts, the toll amount will be debited once the tags are recharged.

However, this facility can be used once, and the owners must recharge the tags, which can be done online or at the toll plazas, soon. The users can also download FASTag Suvidha app on their phones, Shiva Sankar added. 

“All exempted vehicles must take the ‘exempted’ tags. Barring Navy and Defence vehicles, most of the exempted vehicles are yet to take the FASTags,” the official said. Meanwhile, NHAI project director in Krishna district Devireddy Narayana Reddy told The New Indian Express that 90 per cent of the four-wheeler and heavy vehicle users in the district have taken FASTag. 

From Monday, there will be no cash transaction at the four toll plazas in the district: at Pottipadu and Kalaparru on Chennai-Kolkata National Highway, and at Keesara and Chillakallu on Chennai-Hyderabad NH.