 "Govt looks to enable satellite-based toll collection on NHs by FY25")
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways wants to enable satellite-based toll collection on all national highways in the country over the next few years, and will have the Global Navigation Satellite System framework operational on 5,000 kilometres of national highways by December.
According to the chairman and managing director of Indian Highways Management Company Ltd, Vishal Chauhan, the Centre wants to build a case study with the 5,000-kilometre pilot by the end of FY25 before it proceeds with the nationwide rollout of the programme.
Indian Highways Management Company Ltd also floated an expression of interest for the implementation of Global Navigation Satellite System across the country earlier this month. According to the tender documents, the company wants coverage of the satellite system on 50,000 kilometres of national highways within 24 months of the award of the contract.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, in his address, emphasised the need for this system to eliminate leakages in the highway toll collection system in the country. The minister said that leakages have continued despite Fastag, with corruption from toll collection agencies being at the heart of the issue.
“We have a total of 12.7 crore vehicles, but we only have 9 crore Fastags in the country. This means we have no account for 25 per cent of the vehicles,” Gadkari said, adding several people are involved in toll collection corruption, which needs to be eradicated.
Currently, 75 per cent of NHAI’s Rs 54,000 crore toll comes from commercial vehicles, while the rest comes from personal vehicles.
The minister said that the government could recover close to Rs 10,000 crore of leakages with a more efficient system. The Global Navigation Satellite System framework aims to eliminate toll collection booths.
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Union Road Transport and Highways Secretary Anurag Jain said that the government was initially concerned about the fact that the cost of the on-board unit – which will be fitted into vehicles – will be borne by the consumer, but it looks to recover that cost through “value-added services”.
Later on, the data can be monetised, Jain added. Concerns over data privacy continue to remain, and the ministry looks to resolve them before going live with the framework.
The Centre also has plans to disincentivise users from delaying the shift to the Global Navigation Satellite System once it goes live by introducing penalties like those it did when it introduced the Fastag system.
According to a presentation made by Joint Secretary S.P. Singh at the workshop, the present framework may charge the user twice the toll if they pass a toll area without the on-board unit fitted in their vehicle.