The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) will further lose out on revenue from toll tax collection with the Supreme Court ordering 100 per cent increase of Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) on light and heavy trucks entering Delhi.
The light duty vehicles which were to pay Rs700 will now increase to Rs1,400 and prices for three-axle vehicles will jump from Rs1,300 to Rs2,600 to enter Delhi.
The South Corporation said the increased prices will invariably bring down the number of commercial vehicles entering the Capital to avoid payment of taxes, which will in turn hamper the toll tax collection.
According to sources, due to this, commodities entering the Capital through commercial vehicles are likely to become costlier. Since supplies will be less as compared to the demand, hence the prices will hit the roof, they added.
The move came in a bid to check high pollution levels in the city. Till now the SDMC used to get Rs11 crore per week from toll tax collection, but after imposition of green tax, the contractor submitted Rs7.30 crore.
This took place when the toll tax collector suffered a reduction in the toll collection by 30 per cent as the entry of commercial vehicles had reduced by 20 per cent.
Ever since the green tax has been imposed, the vehicles have been opting for a different route traversing through Haryana and UP thereby avoiding entry into the capital in a bid to avoid payment of taxes.
Meanwhile, the corporation also took a firm stance against SMYR consortium last week, the agency, which is authorised to collect the taxes on SDMC’s behalf, the monthly amount it was supposed to pay officially.
They encashed the bank guarantee for two months as the contractor deducted the share from toll tax collection after the green tax was imposed.
As per the contract, contractor has to pay Rs551 crore to the corporation from toll tax collection without any terms and conditions. While the South Corporation has refused to comply with the reduced amount, the contractor has also expressed its inability to pay the desired sum. This has not gone down well with the South MCD that said it will be forced to dock the expenses from contractor’s security account.