Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy’s suggestion that states must think of imposing a road congestion tax on motorists to curb the number of vehicles and greenhouse gas emissions indicates lack of thought. Ironically, the minister made these remarks at the launch of the Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) in the Capital which has over five million vehicles while another four million come to the metropolis every day from adjoining states.
The fact is that there are a number of measures that the government can initiate to encourage people to use public transport and discourage private vehicles from plying on our roads. Instead, the minister talks of a congestion tax that will do little to clear the mess. It is foolhardy to think that the Singapore model will work here. No amount of taxes will stop people from buying cars. As it is, larger cars of 1200cc are taxed 22 per cent whereas smaller cars are taxed at 8 per cent. Has this worked? Reddy needs to understand ground realities before making absurd proposals.
B K Deshpande, Nagpur
