Manali Tourism Body Okays IDFC First Bank To Collect Green Tax Via FASTag

The Tourism Development Council Manali has authorised IDFC First Bank to collect the green tax by way of FASTag from motorists entering the city at toll plazas.

The hill city in Himachal Pradesh is visited by around 50 lakh tourists every month.

The Tourism Development Council Manali and IDFC First Bank on Thursday launched the payment of green tax using FASTag in the hill city. It is for the first time the automatic toll collection system will be used to pay green tax in the country.

It will make such payments cashless and convenient for motorists in Manali, IDFC First Bank said in a statement.

So far, FASTag is being used for payment of toll, fuel and parking charges.

Currently, IDFC First Bank is the largest acquirer, servicing over 400 toll plazas, and has issued about 60 lakh FASTags. And, the transactions by motorists using the bank's tags average about 20 lakh a day.

B Madhivanan, chief operating officer of IDFC First Bank, said India is at a new frontier when it comes to the digitisation of transit-related payments He added that it will make payments simpler and faster for motorists.

“We have extended the benefits of RFID technology to payments for fuel and parking using FASTag. We are pleased to partner with the Tourism Development Council Manali to introduce FASTag for the first time for payment of green tax, making it cashless," he added.

Kullu Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Garg said the introduction of the FASTag facility for green tax collection is an initiative of the district administration and TDC Manali along with IHMCL, NPCI and IDFC First Bank.

It will facilitate seamless transactions, reduce human interface and save time as well as encourage digital transactions, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)