SHILLONG, Jan 9: A week after the FASTag got mandated for all vehicles, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has said that dry run for vehicles is being carried out on the Umling Toll Plaza in a bid to identify vehicles who have not registered for FASTag.
An NHAI official on Monday said that the plan to conduct the dry run was executed in view of Centre’s directive.
The office l has, meanwhile, beseeched all vehicle owners to register for FASTag.
Informing that the maintenance of the Guwahati-Shillong Expressway is going on and it would take some more time, the official added that the engineers visit the road frequently to keep an eye on the portions of the highway and immediately repair the damaged portions, if any.
The official said that people can share pictures on Sukadyatra App if they stumble upon any bad stretch of road. He added that the photos will be shared directly with the project manager of the road.
The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, had on December 24 announced that FASTag will be mandatory for all vehicles from January 1.
Enumerating its benefits, he had said FASTag will come in handy for commuters as they will not need to stop at toll plazas for cash payments, adding that it will also save time and fuel.
The FASTags were launched in 2016, and four banks together issued nearly a lakh of them. By 2017, their numbers went up to seven lakh.
As per the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, since December 1, 2017, FASTag has been mandated for registration of new four-wheelers.
It was also mandated that the renewal of fitness certificate of a transport vehicle will be done only after the vehicle concerned has a FASTag.
For National Permit vehicles, the fitment of FASTag has been mandated since October 1, 2019.