EPCA extends RFID tag deadline for commercial vehicles to Aug 23

The decision to extend the deadline was taken after several transporters’ unions wrote to the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) and the south corporation seeking more time to buy the RFID tags.

New Delhi

On Friday, long queues of truckers were witnessed at the 13 toll points and six Points of Sale (PoS) of RFID tags in places like Sonepat and Manesar in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.

Commercial vehicles such as trucks and taxis ferrying goods and passengers to Delhi now have time till August 23 to procure the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation declared on Friday. The earlier deadline for procuring RFID tags was August 16.

The decision to extend the deadline was taken after several transporters’ unions wrote to the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) and the south corporation seeking more time to buy the RFID tags.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is implementing the new RFID system at 13 major toll points of the city at Kapashera, Shahdara, Ghazipur, DND and Faridabad.

On Friday, long queues of truckers was witnessed at the 13 toll points and six Points of Sale (PoS) of RFID tags in places like Sonepat and Manesar in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad. EPCA had aimed to equip at least 10 lakh commercial vehicles with the RFID tag by August 15, but only about 95,000 such vehicle owners had come forth and purchased the tags till Friday.

“We do believe that a momentum has been created with 20,000 new registrations happening in the last two days, after the EPCA lay down a guideline. We want to make it clear to the transport unions that August 23 midnight is the last deadline,” she added.

Kultaran Singh Atwal, chairman of All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) — the apex body of the commercial vehicles’ unions —said it would have been better if they got time till the end of the month. “We are complying but in many places, RFID tag vendors are not being able to cater to so many truckers. The south corporation should have deployed vendors at transport centres within Delhi like at Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, Punjabi Bagh, Mayapuri, Azadpur Mandi and Tughlakabad,” he said.

After August 23 midnight, commercial vehicles without RFID tags will be charged double the municipal toll tax and Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) during the first week. This will go up to four times during the second week and six times in the third week.