NHAI to charge double toll from vehicles with non-affixed FASTag on front Windshield
New Delhi, Jul 18: To deter National Highway users from deliberately not fixing FASTag on the windscreen of the vehicle, NHAI has issued guidelines to collect double user fee from such users entering the toll lane with non-affixed FASTag on the front windshield from the inside, an official release said on Thursday.
NHAI said deliberate non-affixation of FASTag on the windscreen leads to unnecessary delays at the toll plazas causing inconvenience to fellow National Highway users.
"Detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) has been issued to all User Fee Collection Agencies and Concessionaires to charge double user fee in case of non-affixation of FASTag on the front windshield," it said.
According to the statement, the information will also be prominently displayed at all User Fee plazas, informing highway users about the penalties for non-compliance of entering a toll lane without a fixed FASTag on front windshield.
In addition, the statement said CCTV footage with Vehicle Registration Number (VRN) at the fee plaza shall be recorded of the non-affixed FASTag cases. This will help in maintaining proper record regarding the fee charged and presence of the vehicle in the toll lane.
In accordance with already established rules, the statement said NHAI aims to enforce the standard procedural guidelines for affixation of FASTag on the front windshield of the assigned vehicle from inside.
The statement said any FASTag that is not affixed on the assigned vehicle as per standard process is not entitled to carry out Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) transaction at a User Fee Plaza and will have to pay double toll fee as well as can be duly blacklisted.
Issuer banks have also been directed to ensure fixation of the FASTag to the assigned vehicle on the front windshield at the time of issuance from various Point-of-Sale (POS), it added.
NHAI collects user fee on National Highways as per the National Highway Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. At present, user fee is collected for approximately 45,000 km of National Highways and Expressways at around 1,000 Toll Plazas on National Highways across the country.
With a penetration rate of around 98 per cent and over 8 crore users, FASTag has revolutionized the Electronic Toll Collection system in the country.
This initiative of charging a double user fee for non-affixation of FASTag will help to make toll operations more efficient and ensure seamless & comfortable journeys for the National Highway users.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
