Nitin Gadkari Advocates No Tolls Without Quality Roads

Updated: Thursday, June 27, 2024, 12:08 [IST]

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has emphasised that highway agencies should not impose tolls if the roads are not in good condition. He made this statement during a global workshop on satellite-based tolling, which is scheduled to be implemented across 5,000 km in the current financial year. Gadkari stated that tolls should only be collected when the best quality roads are provided, as charging for substandard roads could lead to public backlash

GNSS-based Electronic Toll Collection

The state-owned National Highways Authority of India (NH) plans to implement a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system within the existing FASTag ecosystem.

Initially, both Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based ETC and GNSS-based ETC will operate simultaneously using a hybrid model. The authority intends to roll out this system for commercial vehicles first, followed by private vehicles, taking into account scalability and privacy concerns.

Driver Behaviour Analysis and Fraud Detection

NHAI has also suggested analysing driver behaviour and conducting back-end data analysis for fraud detection purposes. The authority recommends that with the implementation of GNSS, payment modes may transition from prepaid to postpaid, allowing banks and financial institutions to provide faster credits based on travel plans.