NHAI waives off Rs 100 FASTag cost for 15 days to increase digital collection of user fee

New Delhi: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to waive off the FASTag cost of Rs 100 for NHAI FASTag between 15th and 29th February 2020, said a Ministry of Road Transport & Highways statement. The move is to further increase the digital collection of user fees through FASTag at NH fee plazas. 

Road users can visit any authorised physical point-of-sale locations with a valid Registration Certificate (RC) of the vehicle and get a NHAI FASTag free of cost, it said, adding that the NHAI FASTag may be purchased from all NH fee plazas, RTOs, Common Service Centres, transport hubs, petrol pumps, etc. 

To search for the nearest NHAI FASTag point-of-sale locations, users can download MyFASTag App, or visit www.ihmcl.com or Call 1033 NH Helpline number.

The applicable security deposit and minimum balance amount for FASTag wallet shall, however, remain unchanged.

Earlier, NHAI had announced for Free NHAI FASTag from November 22 to December 15, 2019 to encourage people to adopt FASTag.

The government had also relaxed the conditions regarding declaration of FASTag Fee lanes for 30 days from January 15, 2020 at the identified 65 high cash transactions fee plazas of NHAI. 

The concerned fee plazas were allowed to convert up to 25 per cent of all fee lanes to hybrid (cash plus FASTag) lanes during this time. The move had come in the wake of NHAI raising concerns regarding high cash transactions on its 65 identified fee plazas. 

NHAI had pointed out that most of the fee plazas are functioning with one hybrid lane on each side, while efforts are being made to bring more fee plazas within the ambit, the said identified fee plazas were facing heavy traffic rush on the hybrid lanes.

The Ministry had decided that depending on the traffic pile up at these 65 fee plazas, not more than 25% FASTag lane of Fee Plaza may be temporarily converted to hybrid lanes to save the citizens from the inconvenience.  

In a directive issued to NHAI in this regard, the Ministry had said that daily evaluation of such cases be made to take necessary corrective action and a summary report on a daily basis be sent to the Ministry.

The Ministry had also asked NHAI to ensure that the least possible number of the declared FASTag lane of Fee Plaza be converted into the hybrid lanes temporarily and further that at least 75% lanes of these 65 fee plaza remain declared and operational as ‘FASTag lane of Fee Plaza’ in order to incentivize the vehicles carrying FASTag.