New Delhi: Truck owners in the state went on a day-long strike on Thursday, demanding that the Tamil Nadu government roll back the green tax hike.
More than 6.5 lakh trucks, 23 lakh light vehicles and 30,000 sand trucks participated in the strike.
Following the state government’s move to hike green tax two months ago, the truck owners urged chief minister M K Stalin to roll back the hike, considering the financial burden it would put on them.
Speaking to reporters in Salem on Thursday, the president of the State Truck Owners Federation – Tamil Nadu (STOF-TN), C Dhanaraj, said the tax hike was an additional setback for the truck industry.
“We are already struggling to run the business. The green tax hike has put an additional burden on the truck owners,” he added.
Dhanaraj said that the truck owners suffered a loss of 300 crore due to the strike, and 5,000 crore worth of goods transport was affected in the state. Pointing out that the green tax must be paid every quarter, Dhanaraj said truck owners would now have to pay as per the revised rates. Dhanaraj pointed out that as per the revised rate, truck owners have to pay 4,550 instead of 3,596 for a six-wheel truck, 7,060 (4,960) for a 10-wheel truck, 9,190 (6,373) for a 12-wheel truck, 11,200 (7,797) for a 14-wheel truck.
