Environment body to survey trucks, gauge green tax success

THE SURVEY BEGAN ON OCTOBER 6 NIGHT AT THE DELHIGURGAON KAPASHERA BORDER

NEW DELHI: A survey by a Supreme Court-mandated environmental body to count the number of trucks entering Delhi and to determine the success of the green tax has started across the borders of the city.

Applicable since 2015, the Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) imposed on trucks entering Delhi was aimed at reducing diesel emissions, a major factor behind the Capital’s foul air.

Officials of the Delhi Transport Department, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation and the Delhi Police are assisting Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority chairman Bhure Lal and member Sunita Narain in the survey, which began on Friday night at the Delhi-gurgaon Kapashera border.

It will be done at 20 such points across Delhi in two phases — before and after Diwali, fireworks during which time push air pollution in the region to perilous levels. At the survey points, cameras have been installed to compute the number of trucks entering the city.

However, an OD (origin-destination) survey is also being conducted on the truck drivers to know where they are coming from, what they are carrying and where they are heading to.

In another ruling, the apex court had banned trucks, which are not destined for Delhi, from entering the city’s borders, granting exemptions to seven categories, such vehicles carrying food grains.

“The whole aim of the survey is to find out how many trucks are coming into Delhi, how many were not meant for Delhi but still entering, and also to understand whether the system of the green tax (ECC) is working or not,” Narain said.

The survey will also give an idea of any decrease or increase in the number of trucks coming in, which will help in enacting further controls on trucks, EPCA members say.

The analysis will also provide a bigger justification of why RFID (radio-frequency identification) is needed.

An RFID technology can automatically identify and track tags attached to vehicles, which can ensure seamless movement at toll plazas, increase transparency and detect the offenders.