Now pay to use roads around Hauz Khas metro station and various others in Delhi
You are likely to pay a tax to use certain roads in the national capital very soon. Delhi is likely to become the first city in India to levy a toll on vehicles entering congested roads. The move will be taken in a bid to ease traffic and check pollution, two of the officials quoted above said. Anil Baijal, Delhi’s Lieutenant-Governor along with stake-holders such as the three municipal corporations and the Union urban affairs ministry, has picked 21 stretches in the Capital where congestion tax could be imposed. The corridor between Aurobindo Chowk and Andheria More, Nehru Place flyover to Modi Mills flyover, areas around Hauz Khas metro station on the Outer Ring Road, the ITO intersection, and parts of Mehrauli-Gurgaon road, Mathura Road and Pusa Road are among the roads that are likely to go through congested tax. “The LG has suggested a plan. I support the LG’s initiative 100%. It (congestion tax) will happen not only in Delhi but eventually everywhere across the country because the way vehicles are growing, it has become unsustainable,” Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. “Modalities such as how much will be the tax and how it will be implemented, whether it will be through a payment card, etc are yet to be worked out. Also, any new tax will require legislative approval, which takes time,” said Ranbir Singh, the east Delhi municipal commissioner. “The LG has asked DIMTS (Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited) to carry out a feasibility study of the corridors. One has to identify alternate routes for the corridors where such tax is imposed,” the head of Delhi traffic police said. According to Delhi government data, the number of cars registered in the city as of May 2017 was 31 lakh — the highest in the country — with a density of 93 cars per km of road. The Delhi government had proposed the idea to levying congestion tax in the past. -PTC News
