Govt likely to extend deadline of 31 December for mandatory use of FASTag on national highways

The Centre is set to extend the deadline for 100 percent collection of toll charges on the national Highway (NH) network through FASTag. Earlier it was believed that that National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will do away with cash transactions for paying toll charges from 1 January.According to a report in the Times of India, the extension would be at least for a month since a large number of commuters are still paying cash for toll charges on the highway. As per the report, the share transactions by FASTag at present is between 75-78 percent.An official told the publication that cash is a legal mode of transaction and no one can be denied to pay in cash. According to the official, the best option is to enforce the MV Rule strictly, which has made FASTag mandatory. The official added that recent months have seen a significant rise in the number of commuters using FASTags.The FASTag is a sticker that has an integrated radio-frequency Identification (RIFD) barcode linked to registration details of respective vehicles. When passing through a toll plaza, FASTag readers at the spot read the barcode and deduct the appropriate amount accordingly. The FASTag will remain valid for a period of five years starting from the date of issuance.According to news agency PTI, FASTag was launched in 2016 and four banks came together to issue nearly a lakh FASTags. By 2017, there were seven lakh FASTags available and in 2018, 34 lakh FASTags were issued. The report further added that from 1 April, 2021, a valid FASTag would be made compulsory for getting new third party insurance as well.