In a bid to tackle pollution, the Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has approved a proposal which states that a 'Green Tax' will be levied on old vehicles, which causes more pollution. The idea is to dissuade people from using unfit and pollution vehicles and motivate them to buy new, less polluting vehicles.
However before formally notifying the same, the proposal in its current form will be sent to all states for consultation.
According to the proposal, vehicles older than eight years could be charged green tax at the time of fitness certificate renewal. The amount could be between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of the road tax. In case of personal vehicles, green tax could be levied at the time of renewal of registration certificate after 15 years. The percentage of green tax could however shoot up to 50 per cent of the road tax, when a vehicle is re-registered in highly polluted cities.
Tax will be different depending on fuel used and the type of vehicle as well. Vehicles like hybrids, electric vehicles and ones which use alternate fuels like CNG, Ethanol, LPG etc. are likely to be exempted. Vehicles used for farming purposes such as tractor, harvester, tiller etc. are likely to be exempted as well.
According to the government, the revenue collected through the green tax will be used to tackle pollution. It reiterated that commercial vehicles contribute to about 65 to 70 per cent of total vehicle pollution. Vehicles which were manufactured before 2000 contribute to about 15 per cent of total vehicle pollution. Older vehicles pollute 10 to 25 times more than modern vehicles and that is something that the government wants to address once the Green Tax on old vehicles is implemented.
