9 The FASTag mechanism, which is mandatory for us, continues to dole out free passes to a select few. In fact, as per the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), there are total 788 members of Parliament (MPs), but 1,136 radio frequency identification (RFID) tags have been distributed under the exempted category.
Pune-based activist Sanjay Shirodkar, who has been working on the toll issue, says, "As per the weekly report of NHAI, as on 31 January 2021, the Indian Highways Management Company Ltd (IHMCL) had issued 4,204 free FASTags to those in the exempted category. Earlier, there were just five to seven top office bearers like the President and the Prime Minister, who were exempted from paying toll on official duty. Now the list has increased to more than 25 categories."