Collection of Environment Compensation Charge seems to be getting smoother as toll officials posted at Anand Vihar and Ghazipur toll plazas claimed that most truck drivers are paying the charge easily. While some of them still resist, but they end up paying after a little persuasion. Compared to dozens of trucks that were turned back on the first day of collection, now only a few trucks on an average are made to return.
“Only a few of them are arguing over it now. It was the first day which was a complete hell for us but now it’s getting better,” said a toll official posted at Ghazipur border.
However, toll operators feel that imposition of the tax on light commercial vehicles is going to be a tough task.
“The first notification that we got was to impose the tax only on heavy vehicles. But after two days we got directions to collect the same from light commercial vehicles as well that have four wheelers,” said the official, adding that currently they are trying to ensure that they don’t indulge in arguments with drivers of light commercial vehicles as they are trying their best to ensure that traffic doesn’t get held up during the festival season.
“While it will take a week for things to settle down completely and for the whole system to function smoothly, but I can say that only for heavy vehicles. But these light vehicles usually travel short distance and as long as this tax exists, it’s going to be a headache to collect the same from them,” the official added.
The apex court had on October 12 directed the authorities to levy the ECC on commercial vehicles entering Delhi from November 1 and held that the order would remain operational for four months till February 29, 2016, on an “experimental basis”.
As per the orders, the contractor is supposed to collect “green tax” of Rs700 on small and medium trucks and Rs1,300 on large trucks.