Keypoints:
- Government will do away with toll plaza booth across the country within a year.
- Complete GPS based toll collection will be implemented to replace toll plazas.
- Money will be collected based on GPS imaging (on vehicles).
On Thursday, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said in the Lok Sabha that GPS based toll collection will be implemented across the country and the country will be free from toll plazas on the roads and highways. Gadkari said that complete GPS-based toll collection will be implemented to replace toll plazas.
In the Lok Sabha, Nitin Gadkari was making a statement on “Vehicles Scrapping Policy”.The minister said he has instructed police inquiry for those vehicles which do not pay toll using FASTags. Cases of toll theft and GST evasion are registered in cases if FASTags are not fitted in vehicles.
“I want to assure the House that within one year all physical toll booths in the country will be removed. It means that toll collection will happen via GPS. The money will be collected based on GPS imaging (on vehicles),” Gadkari said in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.
Facilitating electronic payment of fee at toll plazas, FASTags was introduced in the year 2016. From 16 February,all the vehicles without FASTags were made to pay double toll fee at electronic toll plazas across the country.
The compulsory use of tags would ensure that vehicles pass seamlessly through the toll plazas, as the fee payment would be done electronically.
About the scrapping policy, the minister also made a statement in the Lok Sabha where he claimed that it would reduce pollution, improve fuel efficiency, and increase government’s revenue collection from the sale of new vehicles.
The Minister said the Union government would issue an advisory to auto makers to offer the incentive of a 5% rebate for those who buy a new vehicle after producing a scrapping certificate.The Minister said his Ministry would promote the setting up of a Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility and claimed that prices of auto components would fall substantially with the recycling of metal and plastic parts.
“The policy will pave the way for the creation of an ecosystem of vehicular scrapping facilities and a market for recycled raw materials,” said Confederation of Indian Industry’s director general Chandrajit Banerjee.
“The move will revive the ailing commercial vehicle segment and also boost the State exchequer’s revenue on the sale of new vehicles,” said Vinkesh Gulati, president, Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association.
