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Congestion woes may end as 13 toll booths at Delhi’s borders get RFID technology

The RFID-based toll system has become functional at Kundli, Rajokri, Tikri, Aya Nagar, Kalindi Kunj, Kapashera, Shahdara (Main), Shahdara (Flyover), Ghazipur (Main), Ghazipur (Old), DND Flyway, Badarpur-Faridabad (Main) and Badarpur-Faridabad (Flyover) toll plazas.

rfid technology, rfid technology at delhi tolls, delhi toll booths, delhi tolls, delhi traffic, anil baijal, delhi news EPCA chief Bhure Lal with L-G Anil Baijal at the inauguration. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)

Congestion and confusion at 13 toll booths in border areas will soon end as the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) Monday introduced radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to deduct toll automatically.

The RFID-based toll system has become functional at Kundli, Rajokri, Tikri, Aya Nagar, Kalindi Kunj, Kapashera, Shahdara (Main), Shahdara (Flyover), Ghazipur (Main), Ghazipur (Old), DND Flyway, Badarpur-Faridabad (Main) and Badarpur-Faridabad (Flyover) toll plazas.

Inaugurating the project, L-G Anil Baijal said the system will not just ease traffic but reduce vehicular pollution, which is the main cause of pollution in a city like Delhi as well as other metros across the world.

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Vehicles don’t need to stop at border areas

The South Corporation, which gave the first push to the RFID system, has introduced public help booths near the toll plazas, from where drivers can collect RFID tags. The device will be installed on windshields of vehicles. Each time a vehicle enters the capital, money will be deducted automatically, an official said. RFID cards, issued by the civic body to owners of vehicles, will have to be recharged regularly. As of now, 40,000 commercial vehicles have obtained RFID tags after pre-registration.

Commercial vehicles entering Delhi have to pay a green cess or environment compensation charge between Rs 700 and Rs 1,400, and toll between Rs 100 and Rs 2,000 — depending on the size and category of the vehicle.

Environmentalist Sunita Narain said 40% of the pollution in Delhi is vehicular, with pollution from trucks being the highest. She said the project, if implemented correctly, will help agencies stop diesel vehicles older than 10 years from entering the capital.

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Additional commissioner Randhir Sahay said, “With the introduction of the RFID system, all vehicles will require pre-registration. Through this, the age of the vehicle will be checked and entered into the system. This will help stop the entry of polluting vehicles.”

He said the system will also help in improving the law and order situation as the “cameras installed are sharp enough to capture number plates of cars and trucks”.

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Under the system, there will be 58 RFID lanes and 33 free lanes across the 13 toll plazas. Initially, there will be a separate lane for vehicles with RFID tags. Such lanes will gradually be increased as the plan is to make the tag mandatory, as per guidelines of the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority.

First uploaded on: 16-07-2019 at 02:39 IST
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