'Pay to preserve the beauty': Uttarakhand announces green tax on visiting vehicles
The green tax rates will vary based on vehicle type: Rs 80 for small passenger vehicles, Rs 250 for small goods carriers, Rs 140 for buses, and between Rs 120 and Rs 700 for trucks
- Oct 28, 2025,
- Updated Oct 28, 2025 4:22 PM IST
The Uttarakhand government will begin levying a green tax on vehicles entering from other states starting December 1, 2025, in an effort to curb vehicular pollution and preserve the state’s fragile Himalayan ecology.
According to a Times of India report, drivers will have to pay the tax at entry points when vehicles from other states enter Uttarakhand. The initiative, officials said, aims to reduce traffic emissions, maintain cleanliness, and protect the state's natural landscape.
Sanat Kumar Singh, the state's assistant transportation commissioner, said the system will use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to record incoming vehicles. "Sixteen ANPR cameras have been placed thus far at the state's entry points and are being increased to 37," he told TOI.
The green tax rates will vary based on vehicle type: Rs 80 for small passenger vehicles, Rs 250 for small goods carriers, Rs 140 for buses, and between Rs 120 and Rs 700 for trucks, depending on their load capacity.
Many visitors have welcomed the move. A tourist, Shruti, told news agency ANI, "Imposing Green Tax is worth. When we enter a fair, we have to pay the price for the ticket; similarly, when we come to such places to enjoy the beauty, and a certain amount is charged by the Government to maintain that beauty, it is not wrong."
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways guidelines state that green taxes are designed to discourage the prolonged use of polluting vehicles by making owners bear the cost of the environmental damage they cause. The revenue collected is typically used for pollution control and environmental protection initiatives.
The concept has already been implemented in several other states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand.
The Uttarakhand government will begin levying a green tax on vehicles entering from other states starting December 1, 2025, in an effort to curb vehicular pollution and preserve the state’s fragile Himalayan ecology.
According to a Times of India report, drivers will have to pay the tax at entry points when vehicles from other states enter Uttarakhand. The initiative, officials said, aims to reduce traffic emissions, maintain cleanliness, and protect the state's natural landscape.
Sanat Kumar Singh, the state's assistant transportation commissioner, said the system will use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to record incoming vehicles. "Sixteen ANPR cameras have been placed thus far at the state's entry points and are being increased to 37," he told TOI.
The green tax rates will vary based on vehicle type: Rs 80 for small passenger vehicles, Rs 250 for small goods carriers, Rs 140 for buses, and between Rs 120 and Rs 700 for trucks, depending on their load capacity.
Many visitors have welcomed the move. A tourist, Shruti, told news agency ANI, "Imposing Green Tax is worth. When we enter a fair, we have to pay the price for the ticket; similarly, when we come to such places to enjoy the beauty, and a certain amount is charged by the Government to maintain that beauty, it is not wrong."
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways guidelines state that green taxes are designed to discourage the prolonged use of polluting vehicles by making owners bear the cost of the environmental damage they cause. The revenue collected is typically used for pollution control and environmental protection initiatives.
The concept has already been implemented in several other states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand.