Lok Sabha Question No. 289 (STARRED), answered on 2025-03-20
Subject: Scams on Toll Booths
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Shri Virendra Singh

## be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware about the scam carried out through fake software at toll booths/bridges on National Highways (NHs) under National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to conduct an investigation into all toll booths/bridges across the country, if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the quantum of funds involved in the scam that have come to light so far and the action taken by the Government thereon?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

(SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a) to (c) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 289 ANSWERED ON 20 TH  MARCH, 2025

## SCAMS ON TOLL BOOTHS

## *289. SHRI VIRENDRA SINGH:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

## STATEMENT

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  OF  LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  289  FOR  ANSWER  ON  20.03.2025 ASKED  BY SHRI VIRENDRA SINGH  REGARDING  SCAMS  ON  TOLL BOOTHS.

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- (a) An incident has come to the notice of the Government through an FIR registered at District Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh by UP Special Task Force (STF)  citing  the  partial  cash  collection  from  non-FASTag/black  listed FAStag vehicles through separate handheld machines instead of routing the cash collected through the Toll Management System (TMS) software installed  at  Atraila  Shiv  Gulam  user  fee  Plaza.   The  user  fee  collecting agencies are obligated to process the cash collection only through the Toll Management System of user fee plaza. However, there has been no breach in the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system which account for more than 98% of the user fee collection.
- (b) to (c) The Government had setup a 3 Member Enquiry Committee to look  into  the  matter.  The  Committee  has  submitted  its  report.  As  per preliminary findings of the committee, the infrastructure of the FASTag in  so  far  as  ETC  is  concerned, ETC mechanism appears fair. It may be mentioned that 98% of all toll collection happen through ETC. However, following ways had been used for diverting this setup:
- (i) When the vehicles with non-valid FASTags enters the fee plaza, the boom barrier doesn't open which switches the transaction to cash.  The  user  is  expected  to  pay  twice  the  fee  applicable  for that  category  of  vehicles.  The  Toll  operator  may  declare  this transaction  as  exempted  or  violation  category  and  generating  a payment receipt using illegitimate  Point-of-Sale  (PoS)  machines, thereby,  not  reflecting  the  said  collection  in  the  ETC  &  TMC framework.

(ii)  There may also be possibility of charging cash payment from the overloaded vehicles over and above the admissible fee which might not be accounted in the ETC/TMS system.

The  increase  in  percentage  (%)  of  cash  transaction  after the incident  as  compared  to  before  the  incident  has  been  noticed  which indicate that there may be a possibility that the toll operators are taking cash from the vehicles which do not have FASTag or have invalid / nonfunctional FASTag and not accounting into the Toll Management System of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

In  this  incident,  the  user  fee  agency's  Contract  Agreement  has been immediately terminated by NHAI, performance Bank Guarantee has been encashed and the user fee collecting agency has been debarred for one (01) year in terms of contract provisions besides the criminal action being  taken  by  the  Uttar  Pradesh  Special  Task  Force.   Additionally, based  on  the  FIR,  13  user  fee  collecting  agencies  have  also  been debarred for a period of two (2) years.

NHAI is also considering the installation of audit cameras at highvalue  toll  plazas  to  independently  monitor  the  accurate  count  and classify vehicles using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Additionally,  NHAI  has  invited  bids  for  the  implementation  of  a FASTag and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)-based barrierfree tolling system on a pilot basis at Gharaunda, Choryasi, Nemili, Urban Extension Road-II and Dwarka Expressway. This system enables user fee collection  exclusively  through  FASTag,  eliminating  the  need  for  cash collection from the toll collection process.

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