Maharashtra Government Mandates FASTag Payments on Toll Nakas From April 1

In Mumbai, it will be mandatory to pay tolls through FASTag or E-Tag. This applies to toll nakas operated by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). If motorists are unable to make this cashless payment and opt for other payment methods, like cash, cards, and UPI, they will have to pay double the toll amount.

An MSRDC official said that a public notice has been issued that it is compulsory to pay toll using FASTag. The goal is to decrease wait times at toll stations and increase the efficiency of toll operations. The choice was made to avoid misunderstandings regarding the use of FASTag. Road transport and roads ministry guidelines and the National Roads and Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) regulations are in line with the judgement. An official government resolution has been published to formalise the shift to digital payments.

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Light motor vehicles, State Transport buses, and school buses are exempt from paying tolls at the five entry ports to Mumbai that are run by MSRDC: Dahisar, Mulund West, Mulund East, Airoli, and Vashi.

The Bandra-Worli Sea Link, Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Old Mumbai-Pune Highway, Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway, Nagpur Integrated Road Development Project, Solapur Integrated Road Development Project, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar Integrated Road Development Project, Katol Bypass, and Chimur-Warora-Vani Highway are additional toll plazas that fall under MSRDC and are not included in this list. Starting on April 1, they will also need to be paid using FASTag.

FASTag use became mandatory on February 16, 2021, according to NHAI. At the moment, NHAI collects tolls at over 1,000 toll plazas for about 45,000 km of national highways and expressways. The Indian government told the World Bank in 2013 that the average wait time at toll plazas has decreased from 714 seconds to 47 seconds as a result of FASTag.