E-toll collection to commence from Oct 27

Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will launch the electronic toll collection system across the country Oct 27, an official statement said Tuesday.

"With the inauguration of electronic toll collection (ETC) system by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways on Oct 27, a uniform and acceptable standard of service to the commuters would become a reality," the statement said.

E-toll plazas have been installed at 55 locations on national highways around the country while a pilot project for interoperable ETC system of 10 toll plazas between Mumbai and Ahmedabad has already been tested and is operating successfully.

The statement further said that the government has issued orders to incorporate ETC lanes as a mandatory clause in the contracts awarded for all the highway projects in future and action will be taken to include them in projects which have not yet commenced.

Furthermore, the Indian Highways Management Company Limited, set up under the Company's Act 1956, has been constituted to ensure the success of the e-toll collections.

"The objectives of the company are collection of toll through ETC and to manage the project strategically, administratively, legally, technically and commercially among others," said the statement.

Necessary amendments have already been made in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 for fitment of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag on vehicles.

"The government has embarked on an ambitious plan for building India's highway network through various phases financed largely through fees collected from the users of the improved highways. This underlines the need for a large scale tolling of the highways," the statement said.