No stops ahead: India's national highways to roll out hi-tech toll collection system

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) : There's good news for drivers traveling on the National Highway. Vehicles will no longer have to stop to pay tolls at the Bastara toll plaza in Haryana's Karnal district. A Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system is being implemented here, allowing for automatic toll deductions from moving vehicles.

According to officials, the MLFF system at the Bastara toll plaza is nearly complete. Once operational, it will become the second such high-tech toll plaza in India to offer completely hassle-free toll collection.

Toll collection will be done through RFID and ANPR technology

Under the new system, high-performance RFID readers and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras will be used. This technology will ensure seamless electronic toll deduction through FASTag and Vehicle Registration Number (VRN). Bastara Toll Plaza Manager Mukesh Sharma said that the installation of the equipment is in the final stages. Once the system is fully operational, the existing toll booths and barriers will be removed. He said that this new system is likely to start by January 26.

The country's second MLFF toll plaza is located on NH-44 (Panipat-Jalandhar), covering approximately 500 meters. This toll plaza falls under the Gharaunda subdivision. This will be the second toll plaza in the country to implement a multi-lane free flow system.

Previously, the Choryasi toll plaza on NH-48 in Gujarat was designated as the country's first barrier-free toll plaza. The project was implemented in collaboration with Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL), the promoter company of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and ICICI Bank.

The new toll system will be implemented across the country

An agreement in this regard was signed on August 30 at the NHAI headquarters in New Delhi. On that occasion, NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav had said that this toll system based on state-of-the-art technology will be more efficient, transparent and user-friendly and this will pave the way for implementing the smart tolling system across the country. According to the report, NHAI is working on a plan to implement the MLFF system at about 25 national highway toll plazas across the country in the coming time.