The court directed the Delhi government to impose the fee, which will be in addition to the standard toll tax on such commercial vehicles, amid concerns about traffic-driven air pollution.

The court asked the government to collect the charges - Rs 700 from light-duty and two-axle vehicles and Rs 1,300 from three-axle and heavier vehicles - till February 29, 2016, on an "experimental basis".

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based environmental think-tank, has estimated that trucks contribute about 30 per cent of the pollution from vehicles in the capital.

The court said passenger buses, vehicles carrying essential commodities including food articles, and ambulances would be exempted from the charge.

A survey released last week by the CSE suggested that many cargo-laden trucks with destinations north or south of the capital pass through Delhi's arterial roads to save on toll payments on alternative routes.

The court said it would be necessary to impose the environment charge to equalise the difference in the costs along the two sets of routes.

A bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justices Arun Mishra and Adarsh Kumar Goel said transporters had accepted the suggestion for the environment charge, put forward by amicus curiae Harish Salve, solicitor-general Ranjit Kumar and Dushyant Dave, senior counsel appearing for the Delhi government.

The judges also asked the governments of neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan to take steps to ensure that commercial traffic with destinations other than Delhi used alternative routes, such as NH 71 or NH 71A.

"This order relates to Delhi but there are lessons here for other cities that are grappling with air pollution," Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director and head of the air pollution division at the CSE, told The Telegraph. "The message coming out is clear - polluters have to pay."

"Other large cities with similar problems should also consider creating infrastructure, such as alternative routes which commercial vehicles could take if their destinations are elsewhere," Roychowdhury said.

The environment charge will, she said, take away the economic incentive commercial vehicles had to pollute the capital's air. A three-axle truck had to pay Rs 1,420 through the alternative NH 71 or NH 71A routes but only Rs 450 to pass through Delhi.

The court said the charge should be collected by the toll operators without any deduction and handed over to the Delhi government every Friday. The bench also directed the government to issue advertisements on the alternative routes and the extra charge awaiting truckers if they passed through the capital.

The National Green Tribunal, a body examining environmental issues, had on October 7 ordered that such commercial vehicles be charged Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. Today's directive overrides the tribunal order.