Gurgaon: All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) is planning a symbolic “chakka jam” over various demands.The recent policy decisions pose a “direct threat” to the sector’s viability and the country’s supply chain, AIMTC president Harish Sabharwal said on Wednesday, warning of the protest scheduled on May 21-23.Sabharwal was referring to “steeply increasing” environment compensation charge (ECC), a proposed ban on BS-IV vehicles and the move to levy ECC on BS-VI fleets “which could severely disrupt livelihoods and nationwide supply chains”. “We have resolved to intensify outreach and coordination efforts ahead of the symbolic three-day nationwide chakka jam,” the AIMTC president added.The protesters have warned that continued inaction by authorities could force them to extend the protest into a “longer shutdown”, significantly impacting daily life and commerce in the national capital region.Delhi govt has significantly hiked the ECC on commercial vehicles entering the capital to curb pollution. The revised rates, effective April 2026, increased charges for light commercial vehicles to Rs 2,000 from Rs 1,400 and heavy trucks up to Rs 4,000 from Rs 2,600, with a mandated 5% annual increase every April to account for inflation.Union leaders emphasised that such action could severely disrupt the movement of essential goods — including food items, medicines and industrial supplies — effectively bringing supply chains to a standstill in parts of Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad.Against this backdrop, truck operators and transport associations across the national capital region have issued a stern warning of “mass road blockades” unless the govt addresses their growing concerns over escalating operational costs, including rising diesel prices and increased toll and environmental taxes.Transporters unanimously asserted that the “unreasonable and impractical” policy framework, if not reconsidered immediately, would adversely impact lakhs of transporters, driver communities and logistics networks nationwide.The meeting, hosted by Gurgaon Transport Welfare Association (GTWA) president Hukum Chand Sharma along with general secretary Pradeep Modi, focused on the financial strain faced by commercial vehicle operators due to soaring diesel prices and higher toll taxes, which they say have eroded their profitability and made freight operations increasingly unviable.“Few years back, govt imposed BS-VI and it was supposed to be less polluting. The cost of vehicles increased significantly, but now we are paying green tax on BS-VI as well and govt is restricting the use of BS-IV,” said Modi, asking how imposing tax on vehicles will improve the environment.Transporters said that if the govt fails to engage with their representatives and revise the cost structure imposed on the road transport sector, they would commence the blockade on May 21, eventually escalating it into continuous stoppages across major routes in the NCR.The association has demanded a rollback of recent increases in toll and environmental levies on commercial carriers; withdrawal of additional green taxes on BS-VI vehicles, which operators argue already meet stricter emission standards; and reconsideration of any proposed ban on older BS-IV diesel trucks entering Delhi and NCR, a move seen as punitive to smaller transport operators.Transporters also criticised the lack of clear supply chain safeguards, pointing out that the cost of diesel — a primary input for freight movement — has risen sharply in recent months, further squeezing margins for transporters.
