Outside vehicles entering Shimla to pay green fee from early Oct

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 26

After clearing all hurdles, Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) is set to charge green fee from tourists and other outside vehicles entering the capital city from the first week of October. The first trial run of the fee application will be on September 30.

The Municipal Corporation has integrated the app-based application to charge the proposed fee. If all goes as targeted the green fee is expected to generate an income of about Rs 15 crore for the corporation every year.

Shimla Municipal Corporation Commissioner Pankaj Rai today chaired a meeting with seven other committee members including, Mamta Goel, IT head and Amar Chand, senior assistant estate branch.

Rai said the trial run would be held on September 30. Before that the IT Department would ensure that there were adequate checks in the software system to avoid any tempering at any stage.

Rai clarified in the municipal house that they are entitled to charge the green fee under the MC Act. “The SMC is not imposing green tax as speculated in some quarters. We are charging green fee from the outside vehicles for which we are authorised to do so under the Municipal Act”, he explained.

Rai said the green fee collection at Parwanoo barrier should be voluntary not mandatory. Bill boards would be installed and pamphlets distributed among the tourists to create awareness about the green fee.

Rai said the residents whose vehicles bear non-Himachal numbers should submit their applications to the corporation to get exemption from green fee. The estate branch would provide the “exemption list” to the IT department. All modalities would be completed before the trial run.

The tourists will have to pay Rs 200 as green fee for the car and Rs 300 for the buses or other bigger passenger vehicles, he added.

The SMC has got the government nod and completed all modalities with police and other authorities to start the process of charging of green fee. “We expect to launch the app-based green fee system in the city in the first week of October”, Rai said.

The SMC will seek police assistance while dealing with the offenders. Tourists would be educated about the green fee charge, said Tikender Panwar, Deputy Mayor.