HC seeks Centre’s response on petition to pay interest on FASTag collected money

The Delhi High Court has sought response of the NHAI and the Centre on a plea seeking to direct banks to pay interest to the authorities on the money collected by them with the issue of FASTag and minimum balance requirement on the card.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad issued notices to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRT&H) on an application which pleads that with the issuing of FASTag, thousands of crores of rupees have entered the banking system without any corresponding benefit either to the commuter community or to NHAI or MoRT&H.

The court granted four weeks time to the authorities to file their replies to the application and listed the matter for further hearing on August 10. The application was filed in a pending petition that challenges a rule which compels vehicles without FASTag to pay double the toll tax. The petition contended that the rule was discriminatory, arbitrary, and against public interest as it empowers the NHAI to collect toll at double the rate, if paid in cash. Petitioner Ravinder Tyagi, represented by advocate Praveen Agrawal, said in the application that a sum of more than Rs 30,000 crore has entered the banking system with introduction of FASTag facility.