Highlights
- Survey began on the night of October 6 at Kapashera Border
- Survey will be done at 20 points in two phases– before and after Diwali
- Cameras have been installed at the survey points
New Delhi: The efficacy of the green tax imposed on trucks entering Delhi in reducing diesel emissions, a major factor behind the city’s poor air quality, is being studied by a Supreme Court-mandated panel. Officials of the Delhi Transport Department, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and the Delhi police are assisting Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) chairman Bhure Lal and member Sunita Narain in the survey, which began on the night of October 6 at the Delhi-Gurgaon Kapashera border.
Through the survey, the SC-appointed EPCA seeks to assess the ground reality of the implementation of the Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) on commercial vehicles entering Delhi, in force since 2015.
It will be done at 20 such points across Delhi in two phases – before and after Diwali, fireworks during which 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 national capital.
Moreover, an OD (origin-destination) survey is 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 as vehicles carrying food grains.
The whole aim 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, Ms. Sunita 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, she said.
The analysis will also provide a bigger justification of why RFID (radio-frequency identification) is needed, she added.
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.
