Only 165 commercial vehicles have made payments through radio frequency identity (RFID) tags since the new cashless toll system came into force at 13 busy border points in the national capital on August 24, a senior SDMC official said on Tuesday.
Randhir Sahay, Additional Commissioner of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the nodal agency for implementing the RFID project in the capital, said over 3.6 lakh radio frequency identity tags have been sold so far but only 547 of them have been recharged.
"One of the main objectives of the RFID project is to reduce long queues at toll plazas by making the process completely cashless. To make it happen, it's important for vehicle owners to recharge their RFID accounts," he said.
Once a person buys an RFID tag and pastes it on his registered vehicle, the MCD tax and environment compensation charge (ECC) will be deducted at the 13 toll plazas automatically.
"So far, only 165 commercial vehicles have paid MCD tax and ECC through RFID tags. On the first day itself, 6,000 people were challaned at 13 toll plazas for not using RFID tags," he said.
The 13 busy entry points receive 85 per cent of the incoming traffic in Delhi.
Sahay said the intention was not to penalise people, but to make the process cashless to reduce the idling time of vehicles at toll plazas to check pollution.
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