Massive jam on NH 8 as drivers unaware of new environment tax

GURGAON: Commercial vehicle drivers, caught unaware of Supreme Court's imposition of an ' environment tax', remained stranded on National Highway-8 here today for around five hours which led to a massive traffic jam in the area.

The vehicles coming from Jaipur and Gurgaon were stopped at Srihall toll plaza, Rajeev Chowk and the bordering area of Delhi at 12 am to pay environment tax.

However, most of the drivers claimed that they were not aware of the new guidelines by the apex court and failed to pay the tax, Manveer Singh, DCP, Gurgaon Traffic police said.

Some drivers also protested against the move, while others didn't have the amount. They parked their vehicles on the main Delhi-Jaipur road, resulting in a massive jam, he said.

The stretch between Sirhaul toll plaza and Rajiv Chowk in Gurgaon was packed with vehicles till early morning today, he said.

The traffic was cleared at around 5 am after diversion was put in place by senior traffic cops, Singh said.

The Supreme Court recently imposed an 'Environment Compensation Charge' (ECC) on commercial vehicles entering Delhi, in addition to the toll tax, from November for four months on a trial basis, in a bid to check high pollution levels in the city.

As per the ECC, light duty vehicles and two-axle vehicles have to pay a sum of Rs 700 while three-axle and above vehicles have to shell out Rs 1,300.