CUTTACK: Truckers in Odisha today threatened to go on an indefinite strike from December 15 midnight to protest against the 'green tax' levied on them by the Odisha government.
The state government, on November 21 came out with a notification to levy green tax at the rate of Rs 4000 per annum, on ten-wheelers and trucks that are more than 15 years old, to check automobile pollution and discourage their use in the state.
"With so many taxes levied on transporters, the new green tax, levied as a deterrent to check use of old vehicles is highly irrational at this stage because the Union government has plans to retire heavy commercial vehicles under a proposed vehicle scrapping policy," the general secretary of Odisha State Truck Owners’ Federation, Rabi Narayan Satapathy said.
Federation president Bibhuti Prasad Das said truck transport business in the state has been badly hit due to 26 per cent VAT on diesel in Odisha.
It has become very difficult to sustain business anymore and therefore the federation has decided to go on an indefinite stir.