Cuttack: Truck owners in Odisha demanding withdrawal of Green Tax and freight rate hike have decided not to go ahead with a planned strike from Friday midnight.
The Odisha State Truck Owners Federation (OSTOF) general secretary Rabi Narayan Satpathy on Friday told The Telegraph that the decision was taken following "definite assurances from the state government".
The state government had on November 21 introduced a green tax on vehicles older than 15 years to discourage their use. Also, the freight rate hike for trucks came after nine years.
The OSTOF, the umbrella organisation for truck owners in the state, had decided to go on strike from Friday midnight to press for their demands after a meeting with the state transport minister Nrusingha Sahoo on December 7 did not yield results.
"But, a meeting with the minister on Thursday was fruitful as our demands were considered and we were assured that specially constituted committees would examine our demands and decision would be taken on the basis of their recommendations," Satpathy said.
The OSTOF general secretary said the government had constituted a committee headed by transport commissioner Madhu Sudan Padhi to submit a report within one month on the issue of green tax withdrawal and the Odisha Motor Vehicle Act would be amended accordingly. Association representatives have beenincluded as members of the committee.
The government also assured that a technical committee would examine the freight rate issue and submit a report within one month and the freight rate would be revised accordingly, Satpathy said, adding that the association was further assured that truck terminals would be constructed in Cuttack and Paradip and truck terminals would be set up in phases in other parts of the state as suggested by the federation.
Federation members said the government's assurance on green tax assumes significance because according to the new levy, owners of vehicles more than 15 years old have to shell out Rs 4,000 every year to get a fitness certificate. They said there were around two lakh trucks in the state and over 50,000 of them were more than 15 years old.
