Shimla MC’s green fee project hangs fire

Tribune News Service

Sameer Singh

Shimla, October 15

The Shimla Municipal Corporation’s (SMC) plan to generate revenue by charging green fee from vehicles registered in other states entering the city does not seem to be materialising anytime soon. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) did not grant the civic body the permission to install a barrier on the MC land for the collection of fee.

During a discussion in the MC House recently, it was decided that a barrier would be installed within MC limits. With the NHAI not allowing the setting up of the barrier on its land, the MC’s plan to generate revenue seems to be fizzling out.

The civic body had been mulling the imposition of green fee on vehicles entering the city from other states for long. The project has, however, not seen the light of day so far due to one reason or the other. As per an estimate, if implemented, the project is likely to generate over Rs 12-crore revenue annually.

Green fee was also introduced in Shimla in 2014 and a barrier installed near Tara Devi. It was later discontinued due to snarl-ups and some technical issues related to the barrier. As per the MC’s proposal, buses and trucks will be charged a fee of Rs 300, cars Rs 200 and two-wheelers Rs 50.

MC Commissioner Bhupender Attri said, “The civic body had written to the NHAI seeking its permission for setting up a barrier. However, the permission was not granted. We have now constituted a committee that is looking into the pros and cons and a possible solution to the issue of setting up the barrier. There are considerations of seeking an approval from the NHAI authorities again and also using the MC land for setting up the barrier for the project.”

A senior functionary of the NHAI said, “We have not denied them any permission. We were asked to attend a meeting to discuss the matter of establishing a barrier on the NHAI land, but later, there was no follow-up at the MC’s end. If the civic body approaches us for the permission again, we will conduct inspections. Whether the approval can be given or not would depend on the safety and feasibility norms.”

Meanwhile, hoteliers have been raising the issue regarding the hiked tax on vehicles from other states saying the tourism sector is getting affected due to that. If the green tax is imposed, the tourism sector will be further hit, they say.

Planned barrier within it's limits

• During a discussion in the MC House recently, it was decided that a barrier would be installed within MC limits. With the NHAI not allowing the setting up of the barrier on its land, the MC's plan to generate revenue seems to be fizzling out
• The civic body had been mulling the imposition of green fee on vehicles entering the city from other states for long. The project has, however, not seen the light of day so far due to one reason or the other

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