Government to implement GNSS-based toll collection system on selected National Highways: Gadkari
PTC News Desk: The Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday that the road ministry has chosen to add a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-based toll collection system as an extra service to FASTag at some national roads on a trial basis.
The Bengaluru-Mysore part of NH-275 in Karnataka and the Panipat-Hisar section of NH-709 in Haryana have undergone a pilot study regarding GNSS-based user fee collecting systems, according to a written response from Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
According to Gadkari, on June 25, an international workshop was held for stakeholder engagement. On June 7, a worldwide expression of interest (EOI) was sought for a larger industrial consultation, with a deadline of July 22, 2024 for submissions.
In response to a different query, he stated that the road ministry had created the master plan for national highways under the PM Gatishakti Framework, utilising a transportation model and data analysis from e-way bills (GST), tolls, and traffic surveys to improve logistics with the construction of expressways and high-speed highways.
In response to a follow-up inquiry, the minister stated that 697 of the national highway projects that were initiated over a decade ago were already completed beyond their initial timelines.
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According to him, the main causes of delays in NH projects include problems with land acquisition, statutory clearances, utility relocation, encroachment removal, law and order, contractor financial difficulties, contractor underperformance, and force majeure events like the Covid-19 pandemic, intense rain, floods, cyclones, landslides/avalanches, etc.
Gadkari claims that since 2014, NHAI has borrowed a total of Rs 3.77 lakh crore for loans and other borrowings to finish projects and schemes that have been entrusted to them. The minister also disclosed that the ministry still has over 20,000 km of national highways to be built under ongoing/awarded projects at the start of the current fiscal year.
In addition, he noted, the ministry has a backlog of projects in the DPR and tendering process that will accelerate construction activity in the current and upcoming fiscal years. Gadkari added that two bills pertaining to the rescue and relief efforts at Uttarakhand’s Silkyara Tunnel have cost over Rs 1.94 crore as of right now.
A few invoices are past due. The minister stated, “The engineering company is responsible for the expenditures paid on rescue and relief activities.