'New barrier-free highway toll collection system to be implemented within a year', Nitin Gadkari replied in Lok Sabha

News Topical, Digital Desk : Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday (December 4, 2025) said that the current system of toll collection will end within a year and will be replaced by an electronic system, giving highway drivers a hassle-free experience.

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha that the new system has been started at 10 places and it will be implemented across the country within a year.

He said, "This toll system will end. No one will stop you in the name of toll. Electronic toll collection will be implemented across the country within a year."

4,500 highway projects underway in the country

Gadkari also informed the House that 4,500 highway projects worth ₹10 lakh crore are currently underway across the country. According to a recent official statement, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has developed the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program, a unified, interoperable platform for electronic toll payments, to simplify toll collection on India's highways.

The core of NETC is FASTag, a radio frequency identification-based device mounted on the vehicle's windscreen. It allows automatic toll payments from the user's linked account without stopping at the plaza.

It has also been decided to introduce new methods for fee collection.

Gadkari told the Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question that the government has also decided to introduce new methods for user fee collection, aimed at reducing congestion, eliminating delays at fee plazas and improving the overall user experience on national highways.

He said, "In an effort to enhance toll operations and enable seamless movement of vehicles, the government has decided to implement a multi-lane free flow electronic toll collection system, which provides seamless tolling by using integrated technologies like automatic number plate recognition and RFID-based electronic toll collection (FASTag) with AI analytics."

According to the Minister, Request for Proposal for implementation of FASTag+ANPR/AI barrier-free user fee collection system at selected fee plazas has been invited/finalised as per Annexure-IV, and based on the results and impact of implementation at these projects, it is likely to be gradually implemented at other fee plazas.

Read More: You can now buy shares of the Gas Exchange, with the IGX IPO coming soon; a major announcement has been made.