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Levy ECC on commercial vehicles for four months: SC
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SME Times News Bureau | 13 Oct, 2015
In a move aimed at reducing air pollution in the national capital, the
Supreme Court on Monday asked the Delhi government to issue a
notification to levy 'Environment Compensation Charge' (ECC) for four
months on experimental basis on commercial vehicles passing through
Delhi.
Passenger vehicles and ambulances, vehicles carrying
essential commodities like food and oil tankers entering Delhi would be
exempted from the cess.
The court directions came as it accepted
suggestions by amicus curiae Harish Salve, Solicitor General Ranjit
Kumar and senior counsel Dushyant Dave appearing for Delhi government
that light duty vehicles and two-axle trucks be charged Rs.700 each
while three- and four-axle trucks be charged Rs.1,300 as ECC on entering
the national capital.
The court said the imposition of ECC for
four months would be on experimental basis, adding that its order will
override any order to the contrary by any authority.
The charges
levied from November 1 till February 29, 2016, will be collected by
tollbooth operators and handed over without any deduction to the Delhi
government every Friday.
The amount so collected ought to be
exclusively used for augmenting public transport and improving roads,
particularly for most vulnerable users -- that is, cyclists and
pedestrians in Delhi.
The Delhi government shall furnish accounts
of receipts and expenditure to the Environment Pollution (Prevention
and Control)) Authority and to the apex court. the court said in its
order.
"The government of NCT Delhi may issue an appropriate
notification to levy the aforesaid charge forthwith, which will be
operative for a period of four months starting from November 1, 2015 to
February 29, 2016 on an experimental basis. This order will override any
order to the contrary by any authority," said the bench of Chief
Justice H.L. Dattu, Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel.
The
court order came as it noted that about 23 percent of commercial
vehicles and 40-60 percent heavy trucks entering the national capital
were not destined for Delhi. The vehicles not destined for Delhi were
avoiding alternative National Highway-71 and NH-71A connecting Rewari to
Panipat via Jhajjar and Rohtak since they were toll roads.
The
court imposed the ECC as it accepted the suggestion that apart from the
MCD toll, it was necessary to impose ECC to equalise the difference in
cost in travelling through alternative routes.
The court also
said that Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan governments will provide
large-sized billboards at exit points towards alternative highways to
inform commercial traffic of the diversions.
The three state
governments will take steps to ensure that commercial traffic with
destinations other than Delhi used alternative routes. These governments
will also ensure that in the course of the implementation of the apex
court order, traffic jams and other inconvenience to the public were
avoided.
Salve, who is amicus curiae in environmental matters,
urged the court to levy ECC as commercial traffic travelling from north
India towards Jaipur and other places was entering the national capital
to save higher toll tax levied at available alternative routes.
The
Supreme Court also noted the study commissioned by the Centre for
Science and Environment, which said that commercial vehicles entering
Delhi spew close to 30 percent of the total particulate load and 22
percent of the total nitrogen oxide load from the transport sector.
The
court directed for listing of the matter in the third week of February
2016 for further consideration and review of the mechanism sought to put
in place.
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