Anantnag: The contractors managing the Kaichachkoot Toll-Plaza along NH-44 here in Pulwama district do not abide by the rules pertaining to FastTag laid down by the Government of India, including the “10-second rule” and the “100 meters rule”.
The central government came up with some guidelines when the FasTag, as this new technology is called, was deemed mandatory across the country for the smooth conduct of Toll Plazas.
“While some of these guidelines favour the toll plaza contractors, others are beneficial for the general public,” sources in the UT administration told Kashmir Reader. “Unfortunately, the contractors at Kaichachkoot plaza adhere to guidelines that favour them and overlook the ones that safeguard the interests of the general public,” they said.
The first and most important guideline, overlooked at the toll plaza, is the “10-second rule”. According to this guideline, the waiting period at a toll plaza cannot exceed 10 seconds.
“If the vehicle has to wait for more than 10 seconds, the driver can pass through the booth and he does not have to pay the toll tax,” the guideline set by the National Highways Authority of India says.
At the Kaichahkoot toll plaza, leave alone the “10-second rule”, the contractors often make people wait for several minutes in case their own RFID set-up (used to read FastTag) is not working. “There is no way they are letting you pass through without paying the toll tax, even if you have waited for 10 minutes in a queue,” Gulzar Ahmad, a daily commuter, told Kashmir Reader.
The second rule is the “100-meter rule”. This guideline by the NHAI suggests that a queue at the toll plaza should not stretch beyond 100 meters. The NHAI clearly directs toll plazas to draw a yellow line at 100 meters.
“If all the passings have queues stretching up to the 100-meter mark, you can pass through without paying the toll tax,” the guidelines suggest. But none of these guidelines are being followed at the Kaichachkoot toll plaza, not even after you confront the staff and demand the implementation of such rules.
“They act like these rules do not exist at all,” the commuters told Kashmir Reader, adding that the only rule followed in letter and spirit at the toll plaza is the one where you are supposed to pay double the toll tax if you do not have a FasTag or your FasTag is not working. “Then they are up for the fight and will get even police involved if you do not abide by this rule,” the commuters rue.
Sources in the administration say that the NHAI officials should have people overlooking the working of this toll plaza, and the operations should not be entirely left at the whim of the contractors.
“Yes, there are private contractors but the toll plazas have to be run by the writ of the NHAI and not at the whim of the private contractors,” the sources told Kashmir Reader.
Kashmir Reader talked to the Regional Officer of NHAI in Kashmir, Purshottam Kumar, who said that it might take a little more time for such rules to be implemented.
“First and foremost, we should have a one hundred percent FastTag penetration. People who pay cash often cause the delay,” Kumar said, adding that system-updation, two-three times a day, also causes some delay, “Besides, cars moving bumper to bumper can overwhelm the RFID reader, and cause delay,” he said.
Kumar said that we need to be considerate of all these things, but at the same time 1033 is a toll-free number anyone can dial and complain at if they feel things are not being done in a proper manner.

Suhail A Shah