Toll plazas in Jammu and Kashmir will go cashless from December 1 as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has made it mandatory for all vehicle owners to have ‘FASTag’ (electronic toll collection) from the cut-off date. According to the NHAI, owners of vehicles that are not fitted with FASTag will be charged double the toll fee if they use FASTag lanes at toll plazas along the highways from December 1. “The Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways has made electronic toll collection mandatory for all vehicles from December 1. However, one lane (extreme left) at every toll plaza will continue to accept cash. The electronic toll collection is designed to ensure non-stop movement of vehicles at all toll plazas, cashless payments and reduction in traffic congestion,” an official of the NHAI said. NHAI Regional Officer, J&K, Hem Raj said the rule would be strictly implemented. “Even dignitaries such as judges, CMs and Cabinet Ministers, who are exempt from paying toll, have to get zero balance FASTag,” he said. The regional officer said the NHAI had equipped all lanes of Ban, Mada and Nashri and Thandi Khui Toll plazas with FASTag, adding that a total of eight POS had been established to help vehicle owners to switch to FASTag.
