However, it also highlights the need for clear policy. As India pushes for digitization and seamless travel through FASTag, the manual intervention required for these cards is an anomaly. Until the government codifies a specific exemption for agricultural traffic, the toll plaza will remain a flashpoint—a place where the highway meets the heart of India’s agrarian struggle.
Beyond toll issues, these cards are often cited as helping farmers access government subsidies, crop insurance, and welfare programs, or even acting as supporting documentation for agricultural loans.
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What started as a temporary judicial relief morphed into a permanent expectation. Farmers argued that they were citizens exercising their democratic right to protest and that charging them tolls to reach the capital was an unfair barrier. Over time, this "exemption" became standard practice in Punjab, enforced not by toll operators, but by the sheer organizational strength of farming unions.
What distinguishes India’s version is its and bureaucratic mimicry – the card turns an extralegal act into a quasi-formal transaction, complete with receipts and designated collectors. toll plaza kisan union card
Following the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri (October 2021), where eight people died during a farmer protest, the toll plaza card system intensified. In Uttar Pradesh, union workers set up collection booths at over 30 toll plazas, raising an estimated ₹2 crore within a week. These funds financed:
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Please note that this is just a sample format and the actual card may vary depending on the specific requirements of the Kisan Union and the toll plaza. However, it also highlights the need for clear policy
This is the reality of the , a document that has become a symbol of political leverage, agrarian distress, and the complex relationship between the state and its farmers.