[sustran] Delhi govt to impose cess on liquor, cigarettes to fight pollution

[Vinay Baindur]

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/cess-on-liquor-and-cigarettes-to-boost-urban-transport-fund/1/382593.html





*Delhi govt to impose cess on liquor, cigarettes to fight pollution*
Mail Today Bureau  New Delhi, September 13, 2014 | UPDATED 10:29 IST



One rupee cess would be imposed on cigarettes and liquor.The Delhi
government has decided to impose cess on cigarettes and liquor in an
attempt to create urban transport fund which will be used to tackle rising
pollution levels in the National Capital. "One rupee cess shall be imposed
on every packet of cigarettes and every bottle of liquor for the purpose,"
said a senior Delhi government official.

The government will introduce eight coaches in 129 Metro trains by March
2017. So far, only 58 Metro trains run with eight coaches. The decisions
were taken at the meeting of a high-powered committee, which is constituted
to examine measures to check air and water pollution in Delhi, under the
chairmanship of the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Friday.

The decision to impose cess was taken at a high-powered committee
meeting."Further, the pollution under control (PUC) norms for all vehicles
plying in Delhi will be tightened. The Delhi traffic police will make it
mandatory for all vehicles to display a valid PUC sticker. The proposal of
making valid PUC certificate mandatory for procuring petrol or diesel is
being examined," the official said.

>From January 1 to September 5, as many as 24,025 violators have been fined
for not carrying a valid PUC certificate. The Delhi government has also
decided to regulate the entry of non-destined vehicles in the city.

"The Public Works Department (PWD) and Unified Traffic and Transportation
Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) will make
provision of U-turns or underpasses at specific border locations so that
the entry of non-destined vehicles in Delhi may be prohibited. These
provisions shall be put in place within the next two months," said the
official.

To check the menace of overloading, the transport department has been asked
to prepare a plan to install weigh-in-motion systems at all entry points in
Delhi, the plan for which is likely to be submitted to the lieutenant
governor within the next couple of months.

The Delhi traffic police has been asked to take strict action against
unauthorised and obstructive parking and to carry out an exercise to
enforce "noparking/no-stopping/no-tolerance zones" in the city.

The high powered committee is also working on the parking policy, which
includes imposing differential parking rates, discouraging people from
parking on congested roads and incentivising multi-level parking. The
concept of 'premium parking' for congested areas in Delhi is also being
discussed. L-G Najeeb Jung has also directed the transport department to
introduce non-polluting battery-operated vehicles.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has selected three Metro stations
to provide the charging infrastructure support for the pilot fleet of
electric and hybrid vehicles. In addition, the DMRC has operationalised 34
CNG Mini buses.

The high powered committee was constituted on May 13 this year by the
lieutenant governor. The committee had suggested short-term and long-term
measures to help check pollution levels in Delhi.



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