Amid the threat of a cross-border transport blockade, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday announced a complete rollback of the recent hike in entry tax for small vehicles entering Himachal Pradesh.
The decision follows agitations at key border points like Nalagarh and Barotiwala, where transporters from Punjab and Haryana had blocked arterial roads. The protesters were agitated by a steep hike that saw entry tolls for private cars jump from ₹70 to ₹170.
Under the restored rates, five-seater vehicles will now pay ₹70, while vehicles with a capacity of 6-12 seats will pay ₹110. The proposed hike had sought to fix a uniform rate of ₹130 and ₹170 for these categories. Additionally, the CM announced that residents living within a 5km radius of the state barrier would be issued special passes to ensure hassle-free movement.
The rollback comes as a major climbdown for the Congress government, which had originally merged multiple charges with FASTag to streamline transit.
Earlier in the day, the BJP, led by Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, staged a protest outside the Vidhan Sabha in Shimla, accusing the government of “ill-considered” fiscal measures.
Thakur warned that the hike was creating a law-and-order crisis in border districts like Una, Nahan, and Kangra, and could invite retaliatory taxes from neighbouring states. He slammed the proposed cess on petrol and diesel, claiming it could hike fuel prices by up to ₹5 per litre.
“Transporters in neighbouring states had threatened to halt all Himachal-bound traffic from Tuesday midnight. This decision was necessary to prevent a total economic blockade,” Thakur said.
Though the chief minister attributed the unrest to a “deliberate misinformation campaign”, he admitted the need for dialogue to mitigate the standoff.
Sukhu informed the House that while he could not immediately connect with his Punjab counterpart, Bhagwant Mann, he had spoken with Punjab Congress leaders Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Partap Singh Bajwa to de-escalate the situation.
Following the announcement, Warring took to X to thank Sukhu. “I express profound gratitude to the CM on behalf of the people of Punjab for reverting the entry tax. The free entry for residents within a 5km radius is a major relief,” he posted.
The state government has directed sub divisional magistrates and tehsildars in border areas to begin the process of issuing these residency-based passes immediately.
www.hindustantimes.com
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