NHAI activates e-notice system at all six toll plazas on NH-44 — vehicles that skip payment face a doubled fine and highway ban if they ignore the 72-hour warning.
Toll evaders on National Highway-44 in Jammu & Kashmir will now receive a warning directly on their mobile phones — and if they do not act within three days, their vehicles will be locked out of the highway entirely.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) activated its new digital enforcement protocol on March 18 across all six toll plazas spanning the Lakhanpur-to-Srinagar stretch of NH-44. The system uses CCTV footage to capture registration numbers of vehicles that pass through without paying, then automatically dispatches an e-notice to the mobile number on record with the transport authority.
“With the exception of vehicles granted specific exemptions, no other vehicle will be permitted to cross a toll plaza without paying the applicable fee.” — R.S. Yadav, Regional Officer, NHAI
The notice grants the vehicle owner a 72-hour window to respond and clear the outstanding dues. Those who ignore it face two compounding consequences: their vehicle is barred from plying on any National Highway, and if they attempt to pass through any toll plaza thereafter, the vehicle will be detained and the owner required to pay a fine equivalent to twice the original fee.
R.S. Yadav, Regional Officer at the NHAI, confirmed the rollout. “New regulations have been implemented across all toll plazas,” he said, adding that only vehicles carrying authorised exemptions would be permitted to cross without payment.
How It Works
Step 1 — Detection: Vehicle crosses a toll plaza without paying; CCTV captures the registration plate in real time.
Step 2 — Notice Issued: NHAI staff identify the owner via the vehicle registry and dispatch an e-notice to their registered mobile number.
Step 3 — 72-Hour Window: The owner must acknowledge the notice and pay the prescribed fee within three days.
Step 4 — Non-Compliance Trigger: No response within the window results in an automatic highway ban on the vehicle.
Step 5 — Detention & Double Fine: If the banned vehicle attempts any toll crossing, it is detained and the owner is charged twice the original toll fee.
The Six Toll Plazas
The enforcement covers the entirety of NH-44 from the Punjab border to the Kashmir Valley, passing through five districts. CCTV cameras have already been installed at all six locations to monitor traffic in both directions.
- Kathua — Lakhanpur
- Jammu — Dhondpur
- Udhampur — Ban
- Udhampur — Mada Nasri
- Ramban — Lamber Urju
- Srinagar — Kachkoot
Legal Framework
The new system is grounded in a directive from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which amended the National Highway Fee Rules, 2026 through the Determination of Rates and Collection of Fee (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026. The revised rules formally define “unpaid user fees” and establish the legal architecture for digital e-notice recovery — putting the enforcement on a firm statutory footing.
Crucially, the Ministry has also directed NHAI to build in grievance redressal mechanisms, ensuring that vehicle owners who believe a notice has been issued in error have a formal channel for appeal. NHAI says the move is also intended to address a rise in incidents on national highways and to strengthen overall compliance with toll regulations.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Enforcement began March 18, 2026, across all 6 toll plazas on NH-44
- CCTV cameras monitor both directions of travel at every plaza
- E-notice sent to registered mobile number of vehicle owner
- 72-hour response window before penalties escalate
- Non-response results in a National Highway ban
- Subsequent toll crossing: vehicle detained + double fine levied
- Backed by the Second Amendment Rules, 2026 under MoRTH
- Grievance redressal provisions mandated alongside the crackdown
Officials say the system’s design — issuing a warning rather than immediately penalising — is intended to give law-abiding motorists who may have accidentally bypassed a booth a fair opportunity to rectify the situation. The graduated penalty structure, however, ensures that deliberate evasion becomes significantly more costly the longer it goes unaddressed.
Commuters travelling the Jammu–Srinagar corridor, one of India’s most strategically important arterial roads, are being urged by NHAI to ensure their vehicle registration details are current and to keep an eye on notifications from the authority as the system goes live.
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