Bhubaneswar: In a bid to streamline travelling on toll roads and to collect entry tax in different cities, the state government would implement ‘One Nation One Fastag’ from December 1, 2019.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has recently written to state Works Minister Prafulla Mallik for implementation of National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) programme in national highways and state highways.
The new system will ensure seamless movement of traffic by allowing electronic payment of toll on National Highways through Fastag, a radio frequency identification (RFID)-based smart tag used to pay toll on the national highway network.
Indian Highways Management Company Ltd (IHMCL) will implement the project across the country including Odisha.
Most of the toll plazas under the jurisdiction of state departments and authorities are still collecting toll fees manually, which has been affecting smooth movement of traffic and causing higher levels of fuel consumption and vehicular emission.
Therefore, the Union government suggested the state government to adopt electronic toll collection (ETC) system with Fastag for state toll gates. The online system will also check possible revenue leakage at the toll plazas.
To bring all state governments on board for “One Nation One Tag”, Road Transport Ministry has convened a meeting of transport ministers and top officials in New Delhi October 14, 2019, which will be chaired by Gadkari.
Under the new system, a single tag will be allowed across all roads and even for paying the parking charges in cities. The Union government has already announced that states can join the central platform without any additional expenses, they said.