[Devil on Wheels]

There was a similar article in TOI in November last year. When the Delhi CM Shiela Dixit was talking about leving congestion tax on vehicles coming from adjoining areas (read Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad).

What these netas are failing to realise is the fact that people move out of the city (for eg delhi) to these adjoining areas only when housing and the overall cost of living becomes unaffordable in the city.

In the case of Delhi a middle class house hold can not even dream of buying a house in a decent locality. They have no other option but to move to these suburbs. This also helps ease the pressure on the poor infrastructure of the city (water, electricity, etc).

Now you want them to pay for moving out of the city???

That' insane, by any stretch of imagination.If this is a sign of things to come we should also be prepared for the following:

1 Education Tax: levied on people seeking admission at our educational institutes, increasing the burden on our limited (and insufficient) educational resources.
2 Medical Tax: If you fall sick, you are adding to the ever growing burden on our limited health resources.
3 Bathing Tax: Since the Govt can not do anything about the ever increasing water crisis, this will also be taxed.

So on and so forth. Just use your imagination and the list will continue growing more and more ridiculous.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Devil on Wheels

There was a similar article in TOI in November last year. When the Delhi CM Shiela Dixit was talking about leving congestion tax on vehicles coming from adjoining areas (read Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad).

What these netas are failing to realise is the fact that people move out of the city (for eg delhi) to these adjoining areas only when housing and the overall cost of living becomes unaffordable in the city.

Now you want them to pay for moving out of the city???

Delhi is only 15 years behind Bombay, we have been paying such a toll that long. They built flyovers inside the city, but the toll for that is levied on those who enter the city! Those inside the city - must be the poor staying in Marine Drive, Malabar Hill, Worli & Bandra - don't pay anything at all, the toll is reserved for those of us who live in dingy 2 BHK "farmhouses" in the distant suburbs! The amount of toll collected could have built 3 times the number of flyovers by now. The toll contractors are political stooges who appear to have obtained a permanent franchise to last a generation!

This must be one of the very few countries where the right to collect toll is awarded based on which contractor pays more to the Government, and not based on who levies the least toll, it being public infrastructure. It seems that running toll roads is a business for the Govt and it is not for them to provide public facilities at cheapest costs possible.

[srishiva]

When will the govt do something to improve public transportation/infrastructure and then talk about these things.
The first thing they notice is the public using personal transportation, not what they haven't done. They need to foresee, plan and implement instead of just reacting to problems.

[shatrughna]

A repulsive proposition IMHO. Its with malice towards all that the perfidious politicos propose. They have to rethink their own systems and processes of collection of tolls, taxes, etc. If they can stop pilferages, there wont be any need for any hike for years to come.
I happen to know 2 contractors who are manning the entry tolls in Mumbai and know the reality as to how the contract is awarded and how much money is collected and paid to who all other than MSRDC. To say the least, its a blood sucking business. They minted money while awarding contracts for roads and bridges and now the BOT model for collecting tolls.
In a utopian model, there would have been excellent public transportation available for all at reasonable cost- very few would have they wasted money on exhorbitant costs of cars in India, taxes, insurance, toll, fuel and maintenance. Yes, I would love to save money. May they make owning and running cars exhorbitant, let their be bloodbaths on the buses and in local trains, let their be awakening among the masses and tax payers, let the car sales stop for a while and lets see what do they do.
I would love to see one of the signatories of such a regulation commute to work in public transport, stop misuse of official vehicles for their families and dogs and lets see the fun.

The article may bear no consequence or meaning for the masses in our rural areas or urban areas largely depending on public transports but anyone who has spent hard earned money for a bit of comfort would nt be able to hurl a curse at the mere mention on any such proposal.

[sgiitk]

Delhi already has an entry tax on all commercial vehicles. On the other hand our netas and babus do not even want to pay tolls on the highways.

[ghodlur]

To rub salt over injury many city municipal corporation levy the age old "Octroi" which adds substantially to the costs any item (read cars) being brought within the city limit thus encouraging the corrupt practices.

I was talking to one of my project colleagues who happened to buy a Renault Clio which has the CO2 emmission levels sufficient to waive off the road tax and the congestion tax levied in London. So effectively the cost of the car is the ex-showroom car. Would we have such a situation here in India? I doubt so.

[vibbs]

As per the latest report Delhi has the maximum number of vehicles in the country at 6.3 million (and that is not even considering suburbs like gurgaon, gaziabad, noida fbd etc) which is more than double the number in bangalore thats at the second place with 3 million. Interestingly Mumbai has just close to 1.9 million vehicles. The reason being mumbai has a much more efficient public transport system than these two cities.

The Metro has come up in delhi and it has led to a massive reduction in the no of jams and congession around the city. But that too is getting more than over crowded. Anybody who takes the dwarka noida line during peak hrs will realise what I mean.

I guess the authorities need to be proactive rather than reactive. New methods need to be figured out to improve the condition and solve the problem before the situation becomes bad.

For eg taking the case of metro itself. A humble extension of the metro line to dwarka sector 21 till gurgaon could have given lakhs of west delhi residents easy access to gurgaon reducing the load on the Gurgaon expressway.

Imposing a higher fine will only mean increasing the monthly expense of the population. What option does a person staying in Dwarka-vikaspuri-janakpuri area of delhi have if he wants to go to Gurgaon other than use his own vehicle? Depend on the very few and overcrowded buses? Or hire a taxi which again is not different from taking your own car.

Need is to ensure every corner of the city can be comfortably be accessed from any corner before the talk of levying any sort of additional congestion taxes. Taxes may not solve the problem in my view

[dar3dev|l]

Mumbai CM Hints at congestion tax !

Mumbai:Jun 30, 2011, 04.39am IST :

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has hinted that the state may consider imposing congestion tax in Mumbai.
"The number of vehicles in Mumbai is increasing day-by-day. This is a serious issue," he said at a function on Wednesday evening. The CM distributed the first learner's licence, which has been outsourced through WIAA
"In some countries, you have to pay to use the road," he said, adding, "If the situation in Mumbai goes out of control, we will have to consider restricting the number of vehicles on the roads." He then hinted that citizens may have to pay for using the road in populated areas.

Source: CM hints at congestion tax - The Times of India

[sa_kiran]

Congestion tax does not make sense in Mumbai because there is no credible alternative/public transport. People travel in cars for 5-6 hours a day, not because they like it but because there is no alternative.

[Marlon]

Plan to introduce Congestion Tax in Chennai.

The Hindu : Cities / Chennai : Motorists may have to pay congestion tax