U'khand to impose green cess on out-of-state vehicles; EVs, bikes exempted

The Uttarakhand government will soon impose a green cess on out-of-state vehicles, an official said on Saturday.

The amount ranges from Rs 20 to Rs 80 and will apply to commercial and private vehicles alike, he said.

Two-wheelers, electric and CNG vehicles, those registered in Uttarakhand and those engaged in essential services like ambulances and fire brigades will be exempted, the official said.

The tendering process for implementing the cess levying system has been initiated, Joint Commissioner (Transport) Sanat Kumar Singh said.

"Our target is to operationalise the system by the end of December," he said.

Automatic number plate recognition cameras will identify vehicles registered outside Uttarakhand and the amount will be deducted directly from the FASTag wallet of the vehicle owners, the official said.

Three-wheelers will be charged Rs 20, four-wheelers Rs 40, medium vehicles Rs 60 and heavy vehicles Rs 80, the Joint Commissioner said.

The cess will be charged based on single-day entries but vehicle owners will also have the choice of paying higher rates for extended validity passes such as 20 times the daily rate for a quarterly pass and 60 times for an annual pass, the official said.