Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday informed the Rajya Sabha that the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) toll system and AI-driven highway management technology will be implemented across the country by the end of 2026, eliminating waiting time at toll plazas for commuters.
Responding to supplementary questions during Question Hour, the Minister said the new tolling mechanism will be based on Artificial Intelligence, satellite technology, and number plate recognition, ensuring seamless movement of vehicles without stopping at toll plazas.
“With MLFF, commuters will not have to stop at toll plazas. Vehicles will be able to cross toll points at speeds of up to 80 km per hour,” Gadkari said, adding that the system will replace the existing FASTag mechanism.
He explained that earlier, toll payments used to take three to ten minutes, which was later reduced to less than a minute with FASTag. “FASTag increased our revenue by at least ₹5,000 crore. MLFF is an even better facility, and our goal is to bring waiting time down to zero minutes,” he told the House.
The Minister said the new system would help save fuel worth ₹1,500 crore and generate an additional ₹6,000 crore in government revenue, while also completely eliminating toll leakage and theft.
“By 2026, this work will be completed 100 per cent. Once implemented, toll theft will end, transparency will increase, and commuters will not face any inconvenience at toll plazas,” Gadkari assured the members.
He further said the AI-enabled technology would significantly reduce travel time and improve overall efficiency on national highways.
Clarifying responsibilities, the Minister stated that the central government is responsible only for national highways, not state highways or city roads. He noted that issues related to state and urban roads are often circulated on social media and wrongly attributed to national highways.
“We are making every effort to ensure a transparent, efficient, and corruption-free system,” Gadkari said.
The announcement marks a major step toward modernising India’s highway infrastructure and improving ease of travel for millions of road users across the country.
