A Bengaluru approached court as he was charged Rs 10 extra by FASTag. Now, the court has ordered NHAI to pay him Rs 8,000 as compensation
Mr Santosh Kumar MB, 38. is an average Indian citizen from Gandhinagar, Bangalore. As he traveled on the highway, Rs 5 were deducted from his FASTag account. When this happened again, Mr. Snatosh decided to take action and dragged the NHAI to consumer court. While Rs 10 is a small amount, NHAI could justify charging extra. As a result, the court ruled against NHAI and Mr. Santosh received substantial compensation of Rs 8,000.
You May Also Like: Toll Booths and FASTAG to be Abolished from Our Roads?
FASTag User Drags NHAI to Coomsumer Court
As per a TOI report, the incident occurred on a section of a national highway within Chitradurga limits on February 20 and May 16, 2020. He was charged Rs 40 instead of Rs 35. As he crossed the toll twice, Rs 5 were deducted from his account his FASTag account twice. After this, Mr. Santosh visited several locations to recover the extra money charged on FASTag. When NHAI officials or the project director offered no assistance, he was left with no choice and dragged the NHAI to consumer court.
You May Also Like: Video Showing Poor Kid Scanning FAStag Through Watch is FAKE
Mr. Santosh Kumar MB sued the NHAI, the Chitradurga project director, and the manager of JAS Toll Road Company Limited in Nagpur. While the case was being heard, NHAI representatives and JAS company did not appear within the 45-day deadline. Finally, a lawyer appeared on behalf of the NHAI Project Director. He argued that the FASTag system is designed, developed, and configured by the National Payments Corporation of India. He also claimed that the fee was deducted by the rules as the toll fee for cars was Rs 38, and LCV was Rs 66 until July 1, 2020. Eventually, Santosh Kumar won the case and the consumer court ordered the agency to refund the additional toll charges. They were also asked to compensate Mr. Santosh with Rs 8,000.
You May Also Like: Watch How to Pass Through Fastag Lane Without Fastag
You May Also Like: Gurugram: Overspeeding Porsche 911 Hits Tree, Catches Fire
FASTag is an electronic toll collection system for the Ministry of Transport. It was implemented to reduce long queues at toll booths. FASTag uses Radio Frequency Identification technology to make toll payments directly from the prepaid or savings account linked to it or directly toll owner. Apparently, the government is looking for more efficient ways of toll collection. As per recent reports, a new GPS toll system is already being tested on Indian highways. It will allow drivers to pay the toll according to the distance traveled on the highway. The satellite-based toll system will debit the toll amount from a passer-by’s bank account through the GPS installed in his/her car.
