The Uttarakhand government plans to implement a Green Cess for vehicles from other states entering the hill state to combat pollution.
Adopted as an initiative to mark the 25th year of state formation, the government has announced the cess to be a step towards better environmental safeguards. The funds from the cess will be used for air pollution control, green infrastructure development, and smart traffic management, said the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board (UKPCB).
The office of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a statement: “As Uttarakhand completes 25 years, it is our commitment to make the state clean, green, and pollution-free. The revenue generated from the ‘Green Cess’ will be utilised for improving air quality, developing green infrastructure, and implementing smart traffic management systems”.
The member secretary of the UKPCB, Dr Parag Madhukar Dhakate, said that according to the board’s studies, the biggest source of air pollution in Dehradun is road dust at 55%, while vehicular emissions amounted for 7% of pollution in the city, coming in as a major contributor.
“Through the Green Cess, measures like road dust control and the adoption of clean vehicle policies will be the most effective ways to improve the city’s air quality,” he said. The government aims to reduce air pollution and improvement in the AQI through the cess. It said the move will help regulate old, polluting vehicles and promote clean fuel-based vehicles. It is also aimed to improve road dust control, amp up tree plantation campaigns, and air monitoring networks.
Step towards cleaner air
Exemptions from the cess will be provided for electric, hydrogen, solar, and battery-operated vehicles. The state government claims it expects an annual revenue of approximately `100 crore from this cess, which will be earmarked for air quality monitoring, road dust control, green zone expansion, and smart traffic systems.
After Diwali, though the government had claimed that Dehradun AQI was moderate on Monday, Dehradun had not figured in the CPCB bulletin on Tuesday containing data from the previous 24 hours due to incomplete data from its station at Doon University.
