NEW DELHI: Driving down to Mumbai from Delhi could soon become less of a hassle and less dangerous. One lane across all toll plazas will be on Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) mode. It means the vehicles with RFID tags won’t need to stop to pay user charge. Moreover, the 412 km stretch between Vadodara and Mumbai on NH-8 will have the facility of quick medical relief for road crash victims free of cost.

The Gurgaon-Jaipur section of NH-8 is already covered under cashless treatment scheme for road crash victims. These two stretches cover nearly 50% of the entire corridor, and also happens to be one of the most congested highways in the country. road transport ministry source said that work is on to install systems that can read RFID tags allowing vehicles to pass through toll plazas seamlessly. “Though there are some plazas where more than one lane are equipped with ETC system, we are ensuring that at least one lane at all toll plazas can handle vehicles with tags,” he added.Sources said it’s taking little more time to lay additional lanes at a couple of toll plazas for such facilities. “But all this work will be completed in the next 3-4 weeks,” an official said.Already government has made it mandatory for vehicle manufacturers to provide inbuilt RFID tags. Officials said coverage of the entire length between Delhi and Agra along with the already covered highway stretches will encourage people to install RFIC tags in their old vehicles.Meanwhile, the road transport and highways ministry has awarded the “Saving Lives” project to provide cashless treatment for first 48 hours costing up to Rs 30,000 to all crash victims on Mumbai-Vadodara stretch on NH-8. A private insurance major has bagged this project for one year at Rs 7 crore, which the ministry earmarked for this project.It aims at quick response by advance life support ambulances and immediate shifting of crash victims to nearby hospitals.In the case of Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch, while government had earmarked Rs 20 crore for the first pilot project, the expense in the first year did not exceed Rs 6 crore.Along with Mumbai-Vadodara, the ministry has also awarded a similar project for Ranchi-Rargaon-Mahulia stretch of NH-33.The ministry proposes to extend this facility to the entire NH stretches in the country at an annual cost of Rs 500-600 crore.