The Maharashtra Government has decided to impose an environment tax on 15 lakh private vehicles registered in the State which are more that 15 years old and six lakh goods and transport vehicles that are more than eight years old. This decision by the Cabinet is to dissuade motorists from using older vehicles, as they pollute more due to their ageing engines. Changes would be made in the Mumbai Motor Vehicle Tax Act of 1958 to accommodate the new tax.
According to the Transport Secretary, the idea of the green tax is not to make money but to ensure that older vehicles are taken off the road. The taxes thus collected from the motorists would be ploughed back into projects for pollution control, clean fuel and for creating better testing and certifying infrastructure for vehicles.