MCD-NHAI MEET TO LINK RFIDS, FASTAG NEXT WEEK: OFFICIALS

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has restarted work on the integration of infrastructure of the civic body’s RFID toll collection system with the national Fastag toll fees programme. A senior municipal official said a joint meeting has been called with the National Highways Authority of India next week to chalk out the timeline for the project.

“A pilot project will be carried out on Badarpur border by integrating the two toll collection systems. If the project is successful, then similar integration will be carried out at other border points,” the official said.

Delhi has 124 border entry points where toll tax is collected by the MCD. Of these 124 border points, the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system has been installed at 13 major points which are used by almost 80-85% of commercial vehicle traffic entering the city. “Hand-held devices have been provided at all other border points to facilitate the RFID based collection,” the official said. The project, which was earlier monitored by the erstwhile EPCA, now falls under the jurisdiction of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR.

The idea of integrating the RFID and national Fastag system was first mooted in September last year. The civic body has argued that such integration will help in cost reduction for commercial vehicle operators who need to purchase a separate chip for entering Delhi.

“There are two toll collection booths of the municipal corporation and National Highway Authority of India at Badarpur located barely 60-70 m away from each other, leading to traffic jams and queues,” the official said. The Badarpur, Rajokri and DND border entry points are one of the biggest in terms of commercial vehicular volume. The official added that the integration will cost Rs 1-1.5 crore for one border point.

A second municipal official however added that there are several challenges. “NHAI charges the same amount for empty and full trucks but the MCD system differentiates between the two.”