Drivers of the most polluting vehicles could face charges in Greater Manchester under a proposal to introduce a clean air zone announced by the mayor, Andy Burnham.

The mooted clean air zone (CAZ) would penalise operators of buses, coaches, taxis, lorries and vans, as well as some private cars registered outside the area. The proposal comes after the government ordered Greater Manchester and more than 60 other local authorities to reduce road transport emissions.

Announcing the proposal on Monday, Burnham said it would not be a congestion charge, an idea rejected by 79% of voters in a 2008 referendum.

“I want to stress two things as emphatically as I can,” he said. “Firstly, this is not a charge to use the roads – a congestion charge – but instead a penalty scheme for non-compliant vehicles. People with a compliant vehicle would have no fine to pay. Second, this proposal would not apply to private cars registered in Greater Manchester, 80% of which are already compliant. We believe that restrictions on the remaining 20% would be neither progressive nor proportionate.”

The air quality in parts of the region already breaches legal limits, with one Manchester primary school unable to open windows because the pollution is at such a dangerous level.

About 1,200 Greater Mancunians die prematurely because of related respiratory problems, according to official estimates, and central Manchester has the highest rate of emergency hospital admissions for asthma in England, at more than double the national average.

Alex Ganotis, the leader of Stockport council and the Greater Manchester lead on air pollution, said it was not a money-making exercise for the combined authority.

Speaking at the launch of Greater Manchester’s future plan, he said: “What should be the aim of a penalty regime in terms of how much money it should raise? The answer is nothing, nothing at all … because what you want to do is get those vehicles off the road. If owners of those vehicles think ‘we’ll take the penalty and just drive as usual’, it’s all a waste of time.”

Ganotis said it was “not right” that the government was forcing Greater Manchester and other councils to take drastic action on air pollution while not asking the same of Highways England, formerly the Highways Agency, which owns the motorway network as well as many A-roads.

“We need to be very clear that Highways Agency, which runs the motorway network, has to be part of the solution to this. Think about the way the motorway network is embedded across Greater Manchester, the way it dissects our communities … The motorway network heavily contributes towards the air quality issue in Greater Manchester,” he said.

The government believes clean air zones do not seek to reduce the number of vehicles on roads but encourage people to switch to less polluting vehicles, a view opposed by many environmental campaigners.

Ganotis demanded help from the government to help people switch without it costing them personally. “We need a package that encourages and facilitates vehicle renewal so that people can avoid those penalties, for example, fully funded scrappage schemes and retrofitting of vehicles, so that we can have vehicles that comply with air quality levels but do it in a way that doesn’t hit business in the pocket. We need assistance from this. That has to come from the government,” he said.

A similar proposal is under consultation in Leeds, with potential daily fees ranging from £12.50 for taxis and private hire vehicles to £100 for buses, coaches and HGVs.

In central London, an ultra-low emission zone will be introduced on 8 April. Most vehicles including cars and vans will need to meet stricter exhaust emission standards or pay a daily charge from £12.50 to travel within the restricted area.