Uttarakhand trip by car to get expensive from December

From December, all vehicles entering Uttarakhand from outside the state will be subject to a green tax. According to transport department officials, the levy will differ by vehicle type — Rs 80 for small passenger vehicles, Rs 250 for light goods carriers, Rs 140 for buses, and between Rs 120 and Rs 700 for trucks based on their load capacity.

The initiative aims to curb vehicular pollution, protect the fragile Himalayan ecosystem and promote cleanliness across the state.

State Additional Transport Commissioner Sanat Kumar Singh told mediapersons on Saturday that the system will rely on Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras installed at border checkpoints to record registration numbers of incoming vehicles. Sixteen ANPR cameras have been installed so far at the state's entry points, and the number is being increased to 37.


To streamline the process, the transport department has engaged a private vendor to manage tax collection. Data captured by the cameras will be automatically sent to the vendor's software, which will filter out vehicles registered in Uttarakhand, govt vehicles, electric and CNG vehicles, ambulances, fire brigade trucks and two-wheelers.

The filtered information will then be transmitted to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) database. Once verified, the applicable amount will be deducted automatically from the vehicle owner's payment wallet and credited to the transport department's account. Vehicles re-entering the state within 24 hours will not be charged again.

Officials said the move is part of govt's broader strategy to encourage environmentally responsible travel in Uttarakhand, where increasing tourist and commercial traffic has worsened pollution in recent years. The green tax is also expected to create a dedicated revenue stream for environmental protection and sustainable transport infrastructure in the hill state.

(With TOI inputs)