Driving 8-year-old transport vehicles proved costly for 2,467 drivers as the Regional Transport Authority, Nagpur, imposed green tax on them and recovered Rs 36,51,080. Similarly, RTA had also recovered Rs 9,20,410 from 319 private vehicles which are 15-year-old or more.
A senior officer in RTA here said that the Green Tax came into force last year and they would continue to recover it from the people having aging vehicles including two, three, four wheelers and heavy private and transport vehicles. Sources said the state government had decided to impose environment tax on 15 lakh old private vehicles and six lakh old goods and transport vehicles registered in the state.
The government move is to encourage people to scrap older vehicles as they consume more fuel and pollute more. Changes were made in the Mumbai Motor Vehicle Tax Act of 1958 to accommodate the new tax. Private diesel vehicles attract Rs 3,500 tax for five years, petrol vehicles are levied Rs 3,000 and two-wheelers Rs 2,000.
The officer said that the money collected through this tax would be invested into projects for pollution control, clean fuel and for creating better testing and certifying infrastructure for vehicles. The idea of the green tax is not to make money but to ensure that older vehicles are taken off the road, the officer said. He said that as per rules, it was mandatory for private vehicles, especially two-wheelers and cars to get re-registered after 15 years. "Till date no one has come forward," said the officer.
Centre for Education of Human Rights, Research and Advocacy (CEHRRA) president Thrity Patel, who had filed a writ petition in the High Court over the issue, wondered how the Green Tax was really going to help.
She stated that before enforcing the tax, the government should have invited objections and suggestions from public. They should conduct public hearings. Basically it was imposed to generate money, she asserted.
A transporter said that he had paid Green Tax to ply his 12-year-old four-wheeler. He claimed that his car was well maintained but still he was asked to pay Rs 3,500. "I had no option but to shell out the money," he said.
A senior officer in RTA here said that the Green Tax came into force last year and they would continue to recover it from the people having aging vehicles including two, three, four wheelers and heavy private and transport vehicles. Sources said the state government had decided to impose environment tax on 15 lakh old private vehicles and six lakh old goods and transport vehicles registered in the state.
The government move is to encourage people to scrap older vehicles as they consume more fuel and pollute more. Changes were made in the Mumbai Motor Vehicle Tax Act of 1958 to accommodate the new tax. Private diesel vehicles attract Rs 3,500 tax for five years, petrol vehicles are levied Rs 3,000 and two-wheelers Rs 2,000.
The officer said that the money collected through this tax would be invested into projects for pollution control, clean fuel and for creating better testing and certifying infrastructure for vehicles. The idea of the green tax is not to make money but to ensure that older vehicles are taken off the road, the officer said. He said that as per rules, it was mandatory for private vehicles, especially two-wheelers and cars to get re-registered after 15 years. "Till date no one has come forward," said the officer.
Centre for Education of Human Rights, Research and Advocacy (CEHRRA) president Thrity Patel, who had filed a writ petition in the High Court over the issue, wondered how the Green Tax was really going to help.
She stated that before enforcing the tax, the government should have invited objections and suggestions from public. They should conduct public hearings. Basically it was imposed to generate money, she asserted.
A transporter said that he had paid Green Tax to ply his 12-year-old four-wheeler. He claimed that his car was well maintained but still he was asked to pay Rs 3,500. "I had no option but to shell out the money," he said.
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