A ‘Green tax’ will soon be imposed on older vehicles in a bid to clean up the environment by phasing out unfit and polluting vehicles.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has approved the proposal to levy the tax and it will now go to the states for consultation before it is formally notified.

As per a statement, transport vehicles older than eight years could be charged the Green Tax at the time of renewal of fitness certificate at the rate of 10 to 25 per cent of the road tax, and personal vehicles are to be charged Green Tax at the time of renewal of Registration Certification after 15 years.

Vehicles like strong hybrids, electric vehicles, and alternate fuels like CNG, ethanol, LPG, and those used in farming will be exempted.

Public transport vehicles like city buses will be charged lower, while a higher tax (50 per cent of Road Tax) will be imposed for vehicles registered in highly polluted cities.

The tax amount will depend on fuel (petrol/diesel) and type of vehicle.

“Revenue collected from the Green Tax to be kept in a separate account and used for tackling pollution and for States to set up state-of-the-art facilities for emission monitoring,” the statement said.

The Green tax is aimed at dissuading people from using vehicles that damage the environment and to motivate people to switch to newer, less polluting vehicles.

Gadkari also approved the policy of deregistration and scrapping of vehicles owned by the government and PSU, which are above 15 years of age. It is to be notified and will come into effect from April 1, 2022.

The statement further added that it is estimated that commercial vehicles, which constitute about 5 per cent of the total vehicle fleet, contribute about 65-70 per of total vehicular pollution.

“The older fleet, typically manufactured before the year 2000 constitute less than 1 per cent of the total fleet but contributes around 15 per cent of total vehicular pollution. These older vehicles pollute 10-25 times more than modern vehicles,” it said.