India Pilots GNSS-Based Toll Collection on National Highways

The Indian government is piloting a GNSS-based toll collection system in addition to FASTag on selected national highways. Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari informed that the pilot studies have been conducted and consultations are ongoing. Challenges in national highway projects include delays due to land acquisition and other statutory clearances.

The Indian government has initiated a pilot project for a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-based toll collection system on select national highways. This move, as an added facility along with FASTag, was announced in the Rajya Sabha by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari.

In his written statement, Gadkari mentioned that pilot studies for the GNSS-based toll system have been conducted on the Bengaluru-Mysore section of NH-275 in Karnataka and the Panipat-Hisar section of NH-709 in Haryana. An international workshop was organized on June 25, 2024, for stakeholder consultation, and a global expression of interest (EOI) was invited for broader industrial input with a submission deadline of July 22, 2024.

Addressing a separate query, Gadkari revealed that a master plan for national highways under the PM Gatishakti Framework has been prepared using transportation models analyzing e-way bills, toll, and traffic survey data. He highlighted that among national highway projects started around a decade ago, 697 have exceeded their original timelines, primarily due to land acquisition, statutory clearances, financial issues, and force majeure events like COVID-19 and natural disasters.

Since 2014, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has availed loans totaling Rs 3.77 lakh crore for project completions. At the start of the current fiscal year, around 20,000 km of national highways remained under construction, with numerous projects in the DPR and tendering phase to boost construction during this and the next fiscal year. Additionally, Rs 1.94 crore has been spent on bills related to rescue and relief operations at the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarakhand, with some bills still pending payment.

(With inputs from agencies.)