Distressed by a 132 percent increase in the number of cars in Delhi, environmentalists have urged the government to increase taxes on private vehicles.
NEW DELHI: Distressed by a 132 percent increase in the number of cars in Delhi, environmentalists have urged the government to increase taxes on private vehicles as a measure to lessen the burden on capital’s roads.
Experts indicate that the pollution level in Delhi has also increased because of the growing number of cars. In a pre-budget letter written to the finance minister P Chidambaram, environmentalists have urged the minister to also bring down taxes on buses to strengthen the public transport system.
According to the findings of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), there has been a 132 percent increase in the number of cars in the past ten years, whereas the total road length has increased by just 20 percent for the same period. The report also found that every day, around 1,000 new cars join Delhi roads.
“Though cars occupy most space on Delhi roads, only a small percentage use them. Since most people use the public transport system, we want the government to reduce taxes on buses and strengthen the bus transport network,” said CSE’s Anumita Roychoudhary.
She said almost 75 percent of the road space is used by cars and two-wheelers, although they meet just 20 percent of the commuting demand. Delhi has around 50 lakh vehicles and the pressure on roads increases because another 8 lakh vehicles come to Delhi from the nearby satellite towns.
“The government must not reduce the tax rates on cars because it will add to the subsidy given to the industry. The government must increase the excise duty on diesel cars as they are more polluting,” added Roychoudhary. Experts demanded that the government should waive central excise duty on buses to boost the public transport system.
v_gyan@dnaindia.net
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