Transporters' body AIMTC calls for three-day strike in Delhi-NCR from Thursday

Transporters' body AIMTC called for a three-day strike across Delhi and the surrounding national capital region beginning Thursday, seeking rollback of an increased environment compensation cess on commercial vehicles and revoking ban on those with BS IV or earlier-stage emission standards.

More than 68 transport unions across Delhi-NCR under the banner of AIMTC have decided to suspend their operations for three days beginning May 21, All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) said in a statement.

The transporters' body said the strike call is against the unjust and unfair policies imposed by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), courts, and the Delhi government on the transport sector, which lack scientific and legal rationale.

CAQM, a pollution watchdog under the central government, has proposed banning the entry of commercial vehicles with BS IV and earlier-stage emission standards in Delhi-NCR from November 1 in order to discourage them from using Delhi as a corridor and shift their movements through peripheral highways.

Last month, the Delhi government increased the environment compensation cess (ECC) on commercial vehicles by over 50 per cent and decided to implement a 5 per cent annual fee hike.

Effective April 19, the fee on light commercial vehicles and two-axle trucks has been increased from Rs 1,400 to Rs 2,000, while the charge for three-axle trucks and heavier vehicles has been raised to Rs 4,000 from Rs 2,600.

AIMTC, which claims to represent 95 lakh truckers and 26 lakh private bus, taxi and maxi cab operators, as well as state-level transport unions across the country, said these measures have caused serious socio-economic consequences, severely impacting the transport sector and livelihoods of operators.

It said that CAQM and the Delhi government have indiscriminately imposed the ECC on all Delhi-bound goods vehicles, rather than charging only the transit vehicles in line with the Supreme Court's order.

It pointed out that ECC is levied even on vehicles carrying essential items into Delhi, as well as on the empty vehicles which come to Delhi for loading.

AIMTC stated that ECC is also being levied on BS VI vehicles, which are cleaner vehicles allowed by the CAQM even during the enforcement of the stricter pollution control restriction, Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-IV).

It also alleged that the proposed ban on the entry of BS IV commercial vehicles in Delhi lacks a scientific basis and legal rationale.

The transporters' body demanded that BS-VI vehicles, those carrying essential commodities as well as the empty vehicles, be exempt from the ECC levy.

The three-day strike call is symbolic, but in the absence of a timely resolution, the discontentment and agitation amongst the transport fraternity may escalate into an 'indefinite suspension of transport operations' in Delhi-NCR, it said.

According to AIMTC, about 70 per cent of goods are carried by trucks, which are not luxury vehicles, and their movement is essential for sustaining the city's economy, ensuring an uninterrupted supply of goods.

It further questioned the purpose of collecting ECC, saying that despite crores of rupees collected under ECC since 2015, there has been no significant improvement in air quality.

Citing news reports, it said of the Rs 1,753.2 crore of ECC collected till December 4, last year, the government spent only Rs 781.4 crore, while the remaining Rs 971.8 crore - 55.4 per cent - remained unused.

It said that the CAQM's proposed ban on BS-IV commercial vehicles from 1 November 2026 will severely impact the livelihood, financial stability, and sustenance of more than 17 lakh truckers and their families in Delhi-NCR.

Banning vehicles solely based on registration category is not scientifically justified as in light of urban traffic, BS-IV and BS-VI diesel vehicles have nearly similar tailpipe emissions, it argued, suggesting the enforcement based on actual tailpipe emissions as provided in the Motor Vehicles Act.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)