RFID project at 13 borders delayed, to open by Nov 1

The civil construction has been completed at the Aya Nagar toll plaza but due to software issues the corporation couldn’t complete the project within October 2.

A SENIOR SOUTH CORPORATION OFFICIAL

NEW DELHI: The radio frequency identification (RFID) detection system at 13 important city borders — which were to be installed by mid-october — will take another month to be operational, officials said.

At the Aya Nagar toll booth, near the Delhi-gurugram border, the first RFID system was to be made operational by October 1. The RFID sensors will be placed at specific lanes at each of the 13 borders. These lanes are currently closed for vehicular traffic because of the installation of the system.

“We will open the lanes for traffic at Aya Nagar in a couple of days, but the RFID system cannot be started until November 1. We have placed the sensors, but there are some glitches that need to be fixed,” said an officer.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation, in order to reduce congestion and pollution at toll plazas of the city, had launched the RFID project on the direction of Supreme Court in August. Currently the bunching of commercial heavy vehicles at the city’s border points, while paying taxes, causes air pollution and traffic chaos. With the RFID system in place, vehicles can pass without being stopped at the border and the taxes would be automatically deducted, after the radio frequency identification device sensors read the tags on the vehicles. Also, the RFID tags will alert officials if any diesel vehicles, which are more than 10-year-old, enter the city.

Though Delhi shares more than 100 borders with its neighbouring states, a majority of vehicles (80%) enter the city through the 13 entry points where RFID is being set up.

On Thursday, members of Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority visited the toll plaza and expressed satisfaction over the pace of work.

The civic agency will also set up pre-registration camps while issuing RFID tags near 13 toll plazas from November 20. It will take just 15 -20 minutes for the drivers to get the registration done, said an SDMC official.

“The papers submitted by drivers or vehicles owners will also help us to verify their date of registration and restrict the entry of goods vehicles older than 10 years in city, as directed by the Supreme Court,” said Sunita Narain, EPCA member.