Here are five main reasons why the implementation of green tax collection will increase hassles for toll-collectors and Delhiites.
Sunday onwards, an extra Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) is to be levied on commercial vehicles entering national capital under an order put in force by Supreme Court. Toll collectors, however, are not demonstrating keenness as far as tax collection in concerned. As iamin talked to several toll collectors, they confided several apprehensions that they are holding regarding green tax.
Here are five main reasons why the implementation of green tax collection will increase hassles for toll-collectors and Delhiites.
- No mechanism to check trucks carrying essential commodities: As per the apex court order, vehicles carrying essential commodities- food grains, fruits, milk, vegetables, all kinds of food stuff and oil tankers will be exempted from the pollution levy. But no mechanism has been put in place to check which vehicle is carrying essential commodities as most big trucks are covered and cannot be checked easily.
- Checking will cause traffic jam: If every single truck entering Delhi is checked, traffic snarls will ensue near toll booths. As per toll collectors, manual checking is the only way-out which will certainly take at least five minutes per truck.
- No police protection at booths: Currently none of the booths have police protection to deal with the wrath of 'drunk' truck drivers, especially in the night who may create a ruckus.
- City roads might get choc-o-bloc with traffic too: While entering Delhi from neighbouring states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, there are some local roads which can be used to avoid tolls. For instance, while entering Delhi from Singhu Border, one can enter Narela (Delhi) without using toll road which can increase traffic on city roads. It will ultimately cause jams on roads.
- No scrutiny of agencies manning booths: All toll booth in Delhi are being handled by private agencies who are under a contract with MCD. They have temporary staff who collect toll from all commercial vehicles. These agencies, therefore, are not accountable to any government body for tax collection.
This report was first published on iamin.in. For more hyper local stories please visit their website.
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