On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the formation of the state of Uttarakhand, the state government has taken a historic step towards environmental protection, deciding to implement a Green Cess on vehicles from next November. This cess will be collected from vehicles coming from other states, and the proceeds will be spent on air pollution control, green infrastructure, and smart traffic management. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that on the completion of 25 years of Uttarakhand, it is our commitment to make the state clean, green, and pollution-free. The revenue generated from the Green Cess will be used for air quality improvement, green infrastructure, and smart traffic management. This cess will be collected through FastTags. Dr. Parag Madhukar Dhakate, Member Secretary of the State Pollution Control Board, stated that according to the Board’s study, road dust (55%) is the largest source of air pollution in Dehradun, while vehicle emissions (7%) are also a major factor. Road dust control through the Green Cess and adopting a clean vehicle policy will be the most effective step to improve city air quality. Uttarakhand cities have performed exceptionally well in the Government of India’s Clean Air Survey 2024. Rishikesh ranked 14th and Dehradun 19th. The state government will use the proceeds from the Green Cess to further strengthen this achievement. It could be implemented sometime in November.
These are the main objectives:
Reduction of air pollution and improvement of the Air Quality Index (AQI)
Control of old polluting vehicles
Promotion of clean fuel-based vehicles
Improvement of road dust, tree plantation, and air monitoring networks
These are the features:
Green Cess will be collected from vehicles coming from outside states
Electric, hydrogen, solar, and battery vehicles will be exempted
This is expected to generate an annual income of approximately ₹100 crore for the state.
This amount will be spent on air monitoring, road dust control, green space expansion, and smart traffic systems.
