NHAI flags use of tampered number plates to evade toll

Seeking to curb the menace of people tampering with their vehicle’s number plates — such as erasing or hiding letters and numbers using paper or plastic — to evade toll payment at the camera-based Mundka barrierless toll plaza, NHAI has urged Delhi transport department to carry out regular and sustained enforcement drives against such violators.

Under the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF), or barrierless, tolling system at Mundka Bakkarwala plaza on UER-II — the second such plaza on the national highway network — vehicles do not need to stop to pay toll charges.

High-performance RFID readers and automatic number plate recognition systems integrated with AI-enabled cameras installed overhead allow seamless vehicle identification, and the toll amount is automatically deducted from the FASTag wallet linked to a vehicle.

TOI has learnt that NHAI has highlighted that the success of barrierless tolling is dependent on accurate and reliable readability of vehicle number plates. Hence it’s essential to ensure that all vehicles passing through MLFF toll plaza are fitted with High Security Registration Plates (HSRP), ensuring clear visibility of both front and rear number plates, it has said.

“Any instance of tampered, non-standard, defaced, or obscured number plates will directly impair the automated tolling system, leading to revenue leakage and enforcement challenges for the govt,” NHAI has said.

TOI has learnt that NHAI has written to the authorities concerned in states where MLFF is going to be rolled out.