HASSAN: The Forest Department’s move to collect a fee from vehicles passing through tiger reserves and other forest areas has come in for criticism from different quarters with many road users raising objection to double taxation in some places like Bandipur.
The Forest Department has started collecting Rs 20 from light motor vehicles (LMV) and Rs 50 from heavy motor vehicles (HMV). However, drivers of public transport vehicles like cabs are crying hoarse as they have to pay twice — at the Punajanoor checkpost in Bandipur tiger reserve and again while entering Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu.
Murugesh, who drives a taxi, says that while going from Mysuru to Tamil Nadu, he has to pay Rs 50 at Punajanoor checkpost and again at the Tamil Nadu border. “In a day, for a to-and-fro journey, I have to pay up to Rs 300 from the Rs 500-600 byata that I make every day. I also have to meet my boarding expenses and prices of fuel have already gone up. I am barely left with any earning at the end of the day. The authorities should stop collecting fee”, he said.
Environmentalist Joseph Hoover said, “Many people argue that they have already paid road taxes for the vehicles and cess on fuel. They say that this additional fee at Bandipur and Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple (BRT) tiger reserve is an added burden. The Forest Department and the government should consider the issue seriously and take corrective action”.