The Madurai District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission recently directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to pay compensation of ₹ 25,000 to a man after employees at the Kappalur toll plaza had insisted on cash payment stating that the scanner was not reading, though there was sufficient balance in the FASTag.
The complainant A. Martin David of Madurai said that in September 2020 he was travelling from Madurai to Sivakasi in his car. An employee at the Kappalur toll plaza told him the scanner was not reading and insisted on the cash payment. Though there was sufficient balance in the FASTag, he was asked to wait for a long time and pay the toll fee.
On the return journey from Sivakasi to Madurai, he was again told that the scanner did not read the FASTag and he was again forced to pay the toll fee.
The commission, comprising the president M. Piravi Perumal and the member-I P. Shanmugapriya, observed that on perusal of the records, the complainant’s car was holding a valid FASTag with sufficient balance in the FASTag account.
Referring to the notification issued in 2018 by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the Commission observed that if the FASTag of a car was valid and functional and is still not read by the scanner at toll plazas, the vehicle owner need not pay any toll fee. The toll fee is exempted in such cases and the vehicle is allowed to drive through the toll plaza free of cost.
The complainant had a valid FASTag and sufficient balance. However, the notification was not followed and the toll fee was collected from him. He was also ill-treated for raising a genuine and legitimate grievance, the commission said and directed NHAI to pay compensation of ₹ 25,000. The commission also directed NHAI to pay ₹10,000 as cost.
