Gadkari asks Delhi to stop green tax on vehicles
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has called on the Delhi government to drop the green tax on commercial and older petrol vehicles, saying, "I request the Chief Minister of Delhi to stop it immediately."
He feels the tax is putting extra financial pressure on people.
Swap the tax for annual grants: Gadkari
Gadkari isn't just asking for a rollback—he's offering a swap.
He suggests that instead of taxing vehicle owners, civic bodies could get annual grants of ₹700-800 crore as compensation instead of the levy.
The MCD collects the Environment Compensation Charge and transfers the money to the Delhi government.
Ministry wants SC to reconsider environment compensation charge
Gadkari's ministry has asked lawyers to urge the Supreme Court to reconsider its Environment Compensation Charge (ECC), which currently makes trucks and smaller commercial vehicles pay up every time they enter Delhi.
These commercial vehicles make up about 5% of India's fleet but contribute roughly 65-70% of total vehicular pollution; separately, the older petrol vehicles account for less than 1% of the total fleet yet contribute around 15% of vehicular pollution.
The ECC charges aim to cut down this transit traffic and clean up Delhi's air.