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Delhi to impose fine on trucks that evades pollution tax

by IBNS 05 Nov 2015, 07:37 am

New Delhi, Nov 5 (IBNS) The Environment Pollution Control Authority, a regulatory body appointed by the Supreme Court to keep a check on the pollution level, decided on Wednesday that trucks that fail to file in the 'green tax' before entering Delhi will be apprehended and made to pay 2000 rupees in addition to the tax, according to reports.

Trucks will also need to pay 'Environment Compensation Charge' (ECC) irrespective of the goods they carry. Where smaller commercial trucks will be paying Rs 700 for each entry, the bigger vehicles will have to pay Rs 1300.

According to a report  by the India Today, the Government plans to put up over 100 boards at each toll booth to inform truck drivers of the newly imposed rates. the number of police will also be increased to keep law and order in check, the report said.

Sunita Narain, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Director General, was quoted as saying, "Several more steps need to be taken in accordance with NGT and Supreme Court directives such as implementation of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) on trucks to enable their tracking and e-payment, besides introduction of Bharat Stage IV emissions standards nation-wide by 2016."

The pollution from these trucks are said to contribute one-third of Delhi's dense atmosphere, already under high threat.