NHAI barrierless tolling reaches seven plazas: FASTag rules explained

NHAI’s barrierless Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) tolling is now live at seven named plazas, after Paranur on the Tambaram–Tindivanam stretch of NH-179B became Tamil Nadu’s first such location on 1 October 2026. For drivers, the important change is that vehicles pass under an overhead FASTag and automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) gantry without a conventional booth, so a functional tag and sufficient balance matter before the trip.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in its 1 October release that the system is being rolled out in phases. A 10 October 2026 explainer by SignalPe, which cross-checked the official releases, counted seven named locations. This is a collection-system change, not a general announcement that highway travel has become toll-free.

Key takeaways

NHAI’s official list covers plazas in Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Haryana and Tamil Nadu.
MLFF uses overhead FASTag readers and ANPR cameras so vehicles can pass without stopping at a physical toll booth.
The NHAI compliance release says an e-notice can be settled at the original user fee if paid within 72 hours.
After that window, the national rule says the unpaid user fee payable is twice the applicable toll; unpaid dues can later be recorded in VAHAN.
The rollout is phased, so drivers should check the corridor and keep the FASTag linked to the correct vehicle registration number.

Where barrierless tolling is live

NHAI’s 1 October 2026 release names the following plazas. The list includes Paranur, which was added when Tamil Nadu’s first MLFF location became operational.

Plaza	Highway or section	State or region
Chorayasi	NH-48, Surat–Bharuch section	Gujarat
Mundka–Bakkarwala	Urban Extension Road-II	Delhi-NCR
Shahjahanpur	NH-48, Delhi–Jaipur section	Rajasthan
Daulatpura	NH-48, Delhi–Jaipur section	Rajasthan
Manoharpura	NH-48, Delhi–Jaipur section	Rajasthan
Gharaunda	NH-44, Panipat–Jalandhar section	Haryana
Paranur	NH-179B, Tambaram–Tindivanam section	Tamil Nadu

At a conventional plaza, a barrier gives the driver a visible signal that the toll has been processed. Under MLFF, the gantry reads the FASTag while ANPR records the vehicle number, and the applicable user fee is deducted electronically. The absence of a booth therefore removes a stopping point, not the fee itself.

What changes for drivers

The New Indian Express reported that the old barriers at Paranur were removed when the system went live and that vehicles would no longer be stopped manually to check the balance. That makes the pre-trip check more important: a damaged, inactive, blacklisted or incorrectly linked tag can create a payment failure without a booth operator being available at the moment of passage.

Drivers who regularly use the listed corridors can use FuelPrice’s FASTag balance, status and recharge guide before leaving. The check is especially relevant for a vehicle that has recently changed registration details, a windscreen tag that has been replaced, or a wallet that has not been used for some time.

The e-notice timeline

The National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026 came into effect on 17 March 2026, according to NHAI’s compliance release. The release defines an unpaid user fee as a passage recorded by electronic toll collection infrastructure for which the applicable fee was not received. An e-notice can specify the vehicle, date and location of passage and the amount payable, and may be sent through SMS, email, an app or a designated portal.

Within 72 hours: the NHAI release says payment of the e-notice within this window requires only the original user fee, without an additional fee.
After 72 hours: the national release says the unpaid user fee payable is twice the applicable toll.
If the notice is disputed: a representation can be filed through the designated process within 72 hours. NHAI says it should be examined within five days, failing which the claim lapses.
After 15 days: if the dues remain unpaid and no representation is pending, the amount can be recorded in VAHAN and appropriate restrictions may be imposed on vehicle-related services.

Why the penalty wording needs care

The national NHAI release describes the post-72-hour amount as twice the applicable toll. A 2 October report by The New Indian Express, quoting local officials at Paranur, described the first e-challan as 200% of the applicable fee and the amount doubling again to 400% after 72 hours. Those descriptions are not identical in how they express the base amount. The case-specific e-notice and official portal should therefore be treated as the operative record; this article does not generalise the local report’s arithmetic to every plaza.

What to check before a highway trip

Confirm that the FASTag is active, fixed to the windscreen and linked to the vehicle’s current registration number.
Keep enough balance for the trip’s expected tolls, and review the deduction after crossing an MLFF location rather than assuming the passage was free.
Use FuelPrice’s toll-charge calculator to estimate the applicable route charges and the road-trip planner to review the corridor before departure.
If an e-notice arrives, compare its vehicle, date, location and amount with the journey record and respond within the stated window.
For fleet and commercial-vehicle operators, add FASTag alerts and e-notice checks to the trip reconciliation process. Delayed action can affect vehicle-related services even when the original problem was only a failed electronic deduction.

What happens next

NHAI says MLFF is being implemented in phases. The 1 October release does not set one nationwide switchover date, so a driver should not assume that every conventional plaza has changed to barrierless tolling. It is also sensible to distinguish live locations from trial or proposed sites: the official list above is the set NHAI named as rolled out in that release.

The practical trade-off is straightforward. A barrierless plaza can reduce stopping and queueing, but it shifts more responsibility to the digital payment trail. Check the FASTag before leaving, know the listed plazas on the route and keep an eye on any e-notice after the trip. For a fuller trip-cost view, the fuel cost calculator can be used alongside the toll estimate; neither tool changes the amount charged by NHAI.