India
oi-Madhuri Adnal
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has set a February-March 2027 target to make toll collection completely barrier-free across India.
The plan is to move all toll plazas to the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system, which will allow vehicles to pass through without stopping at a toll booth.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari targets February-March 2027 for nationwide barrier-free toll collection via the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system, enabling vehicles to pass without stopping and saving thousands of crores annually in costs and time.
Under the MLFF system, cameras and other electronic equipment installed on overhead gantries will identify vehicles as they pass through. The toll will then be collected digitally, allowing motorists to continue their journey at normal speed.
Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai on Friday, Gadkari said he wants most of the work to be completed by the end of 2026.
“In one year, we want to get all our tolls free on the MLFF model,” Gadkari said. He added that he had asked officials to complete the work by December 2026 and expects 60% to 70% of the work to be finished by then.
By February or March 2027, he said, the barrier-free toll system should be operational across the country.
No more stopping at toll plazas
Gadkari had earlier launched India’s first barrier-free tolling system at the Mundka-Bakkarwala Toll Plaza on Delhi’s Urban Extension Road-II in May.
Explaining how the new system would change highway travel, Gadkari said motorists would no longer have to stop at traditional toll plazas.
“There will be no toll plaza on the way and no one will stop the vehicle,” he said.
Apart from making journeys smoother, the system is expected to cut fuel consumption and reduce the cost of running and maintaining toll plazas.
At present, Gadkari said, the operating cost of toll plazas is around 12% to 15%. With barrier-free tolling, the government expects this to come down to between 2% and 4%.
He estimated that the change could save between ₹6,000 crore and ₹7,000 crore every year.
FASTag already changed toll payments
Gadkari also pointed to FASTag as an important step in India’s shift towards digital toll collection.
Before FASTag became widely used, motorists often had to wait in long queues, make cash payments and look for change at toll booths. FASTag has significantly reduced those delays.
But Gadkari said the government now wants to go a step further and remove the need to stop altogether.
“Earlier, the waiting time was 12 minutes, which used to stretch to 30 minutes at some places,” he said.
The government has also developed software to track waiting times at individual toll plazas. Gadkari said waiting times have already come down by 80% to 90%, but the aim is to eliminate waiting completely.
₹68,500 crore value of time saved
The move towards faster toll collection has also resulted in major savings in fuel and travel time, Gadkari said.
According to him, reduced waiting at toll plazas saves around 71 crore hours and 56 crore litres of fuel every year. The fuel saved is worth approximately ₹5,250 crore.
The time saved by commuters has an estimated economic value of ₹68,500 crore annually, he said.
“This is such a big benefit for the people,” Gadkari said.
He also said the introduction of FASTag and the wider shift to digital toll payments have benefited the government financially. According to Gadkari, the annual benefit to the road transport and highways department is estimated at ₹20,000 crore to ₹25,000 crore when the system before and after FASTag is compared.
