SC refuses to stay NGT orders

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, May 22

The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Himachal Pradesh Government on taxi operators’ plea against the hefty environment cess being levied on vehicles plying between Manali and the Rohtang Pass.

A vacation Bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and UU Lalit, however, refused to stay the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) order imposing the cess without hearing the state government. It directed the government to file its response within three days to the appeal by the Him-Aanchal Taxi Operators’ Union and posted the next hearing for May 26.

The NGT has imposed a cess of Rs 2,500 on diesel-run taxis and Rs 1,000 on petrol-driven ones for each trip between Manali and Rohtang.

Arguing for the union, senior advocate Vibha Dutta Makhija said the NGT wanted the taxis to meet Bharat Stage-4 (BS-IV) emission norms despite the fact that high-grade diesel and petrol were not available to meet this standard.

Further, the NGT had wrongly presumed that Himalayan glaciers were melting at a faster pace only due to taxis plying on the route. What was affecting the glaciers was the noxious fumes being emitted by vehicles and industrial units across the breadth and width of the country, she pleaded.

The cess had affected the livelihood of over 1,500 taxi drivers and their families dependent on the income earned during the three-month tourist season in summer. Taxis were charging only Rs 1,500 for each trip to the Rohtang Pass as normal fare and as such tourists were not ready to shell out Rs 2,500 for the cess, she pleaded.