Overview
- Union minister Nitin Gadkari publicly called for discontinuing the Environment Compensation Charge on commercial vehicles entering and exiting Delhi.
- He said a review by his ministry found ECC collections were not being used for their stated purpose of improving air quality.
- Gadkari recounted that MCD officials acknowledged no contribution to green activities while calling the levy financially important to the civic body.
- As a substitute for the levy, he suggested the Delhi government provide ₹800–900 crore to the MCD as grants-in-aid.
- The ECC was ordered by the Supreme Court in 2015 to deter polluting traffic and fund green projects, and a recent court order withdrew an exemption for essential-goods carriers as Gadkari now seeks a broader reconsideration.