Will lose on revenue if ECC is doubled, says SDMC

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation will further lose out revenue from toll tax collection with the Supreme Court ordering 100 per cent increase of the Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) on light and heavy trucks plying on Delhi roads. 

While the light duty vehicles will now have to pay Rs 1,400, heavy duty vehicles will be charged Rs 2,600. The South Corporation said that the increased prices will invariably bring down the number of commercial vehicles entering the Capital which will in turn hamper the toll tax collection.

According to sources, the Delhi government’s tax collection will suffer a decline due to this. As a result, the commodities entering the Capital via commercial vehicles are likely to become costlier for the Delhiites. 

The light-duty vehicles which had to pay Rs 700 will now have to pay Rs 1,400 and taxes for three-axle vehicles will jump from Rs 1,300 to Rs 2,600. The move came in a bid to check high pollution levels in the city. Till now the SDMC used to get Rs 11 crore per week from toll tax collection, but after imposition of the green tax, the contractor submitted Rs 7.30 crore. 

This took place when the toll tax collector suffered a reduction in the toll collection by 30 per cent as the entry of commercial vehicles was reduced by 20 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Corporation also took a firm stance against SMYR consortium, the agency which is authorised to collect the taxes on SDMC’s behalf and then pay the monthly amount officially. They en-cashed the bank guarantee for two months as the contractor deducted the shares from toll tax collection after the green tax was imposed. 

Now, with the increase in the ECC, the matter is likely to turn worse. As per the contract, the contractor has to pay Rs 551 crore to the Corporation from toll tax collection without any terms and conditions. 

While the South Corporation has refused to comply with the reduced amount, the contractor has also expressed its inability to pay the desired sum. This has not gone down well with the South MCD which said it will be forced to dock the expenses from the contractor’s security account.