If you also show the FASTag at the toll plaza by holding it in your hand (Tag-in-Hand) instead of putting it on the windscreen of your vehicle, then be careful. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is running a big campaign to blacklist such FASTags. NHAI says that some drivers try to use the FASTag on cars, trucks, and other big vehicles. But from now on, any vehicle on which FASTag is not affixed will be blacklisted. This step has been taken to reduce the time taken at the toll plaza and increase transparency.
Why is this strict step being taken
NHAI says that to eliminate the ‘Tag-in-Hand’ system from the country, a special drive is being run to blacklist such Fastags at all NHAI toll plazas. Under this, it is the responsibility of the toll plaza employees to note the details of such Fastags and email them to NHAI. After this, those Fastags will be blacklisted.
NHAI says that illegal systems like ‘Tag-in-Hand’ or loose Fastag will be eliminated. This is also important because in the coming time, the Annual Toll Pass system is going to be implemented in the country, which will start from August 15. Also, a system like Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) tolling is going to come. In such a situation, it becomes necessary that the FASTag is installed properly at the right place on all vehicles, so that there is no problem in scanning it and there is no hindrance in toll collection.
Problems caused by ‘Tag-in-Hand’
‘Tag-in-Hand’ also creates many problems. Not only does it take unnecessarily more time at the toll plaza, but it also causes many other problems. Many times, a chargeback situation arises when there is a problem with toll deduction.
Due to improper scanning, there is a problem with toll deduction, which causes trouble to both the drivers and the toll plaza. Unnecessary crowding of vehicles accumulates at the toll plaza, causing long jams. Apart from this, other types of inconveniences also occur, which disrupt the flow of traffic at the toll plaza.
NHAI’s action and monitoring
NHAI has also provided a separate email ID to ensure timely corrective measures. So that the toll collection agency can immediately inform NHAI about such a FASTag. However, how seriously this campaign of NHAI will be run will be known only after a few days. But NHAI is committed to eradicating this problem from its roots.