Under utilization of funds collected by Central Pollution Control Board

Under utilization of funds collected by Central Pollution Control Board

Proposals kept in Abeyance

* Proposals of Rs. 73.067 Crore for road construction/repair & paving works and procurement of MRSMs and ASGs, received from 08 agencies in Delhi-NCR, are under consideration but have been kept in abeyance in view of concurrence awaited from Hon’ble NGT.

Under the Environment Protection Charges (EPC) funds, as on May 31, 2024, the total accrued fund is ₹422.56 crore. Out of these funds, ₹234.9 crore have been earmarked against the sanctioned projects.  It also includes projects of ₹ 73.06 crore  which have been kept in abeyance in view of Hon’ble NGT order dated 19.12.2023 in OA no. 638/2023 with OA no. 658/2023. It is also submitted that funds amounting to  ₹ 99.29 crore have since been disbursed under these projects. Funds of ₹187.6 crore is available for utilization. Out of ₹187.6 crore, ₹150 crore is  to be utilised for gap funding support for implementation of activities of city action plans of NCR cities not funded under NCAP and XVFC. The proposal has been submitted to Hon’ble NGT for seeking its concurrence. The status of Environment Protection Charge (EPC) funds as on May 31, 2024 is placed at Annexure-I.

            With regard to Environmental Compensation (EC), CPCB has received a deposit of total amount of Rs.126.76 Crores in the NGT EC 25% account and Rs. 276.96 Crores in the NGT EC 75% account inclusive of bank interest till March 31, 2024 out of this, Rs. 46.25 Crores and Rs. 15.69 Crores have been released till March 31, 2024, respectively. Further, in pursuance of the orders of the Hon’ble NGT in specific cases, 23 specific purpose accounts have been opened. As on March 31, 2024, the total amount deposited in these accounts is Rs. 176 Crores, interest accrued is 17 Crores and amount released is Rs.1.33 Crores.  The status of Environmental Compensation (EC) funds as on March, 31, 2024 is placed at Annexure-II.    

List of Projects or studies funded under EPC Funds (as on 31.05.2024) is placed at Annexure-III. Beside scientific studies, utilization of EPC funds have been considered for implementation of on-ground mitigation measures to reduce air pollution at source and accordingly following new areas have been added for funding:

 

Details of the projects sanctioned under EPC funds and proposals that are kept in abeyance based on above said areas is annexed at Annexure-IV and Annexure-V.

Annexure-I

(Amount in crore)

 

EPC Funds (As on May 31, 2024)

1. Amount accrued in EPC account

₹ 422.56 crore

2. Committed liabilities for sanctioned projects

₹ 161.86 crore

(Estimated approx.)

3. Amount Disbursed

₹ 99.29 crore

4. Proposals for road construction /repair & paving works and procurement of MRSMs and ASGs, received from 08 agencies in Delhi-NCR, but kept in abeyance in view of Hon’ble NGT order dated 19.12.2023 in the matter under reference, i.e. OA no. 638/2023 with OA no. 658/2023.

₹ 73.06 crore

5. Balance /available funds for utilization (1-2 – 4)

₹ 187.60 crore (44.4%)

 

Annexure-II

(Amount in crore)

EC Funds (As on March 31, 2024)

S.No

Environmental Compensation Fund

Received

Utilized / released

Balance

NGT EC 25 %

₹ 126.76

₹ 46.25

₹ 80.51

NGT EC 75 %

₹ 276.96

₹ 15.69

₹ 260.27

Total

₹ 403.72

₹ 61.94

₹ 341.78

Deposits on 23 specific purpose

₹ 176.0 Cr. &

₹ 17 Cr interest

₹ 1.33

₹ 191.67

 

Annexure-III

List of Projects or studies funded under EPC Funds (as on 31.05.2024)

S. No.

Head

Scientific/technical studies

1

Pilot project to demonstrate the effectiveness of air pollution mitigation by Pariyayantra filtration- MRIIRS

2

Deployment and Evaluation of air purification units for traffic junction pollution abatement in Delhi- NEERI

3

Control of Dust Emissions using dust Suppressant- EPRI

4

Bi-weekly action plan for effective and efficient management of PM2.5 concentrations in the Delhi city- IIT Delhi

5

Multiple antenna high density ion generator for pollution control in New Delhi – STP Pune

6

Impact of Traffic on Asthma amongst School Children in Delhi- IIHMR

7

Monitoring and Evaluation of Ionization based Air Purifying Technology- IIT Delhi

8

Health impact assessment of fire cracker bursting on Diwali & Dusshera- MAMC

9

Ambient air quality monitoring in Meerut and Faridabad by M/s Shriram Institute of Industrial Research – Air Lab

10

Evaluation of Modelling techniques for air quality management in – TERI

11

Estimation of Fuel Losses and Assessment of Air Quality at selected traffic- CRRI

12

Proxy relationship of ultrafine particles number concentration, new particle formation and its growth rate in transport microenvironment in Delhi- DTU

13

Does Poor Air Quality from Crop burning in close proximity to residential areas adversely affects  respiratory health- TERI

14

Delhi air quality experiment: A paradigm shift in source apportionment- IIT Kanpur

15

Delineation of Air Shed for Air Quality Management in Delhi-NCR- NEERI

16

Assessment of contribution of stubble burning in Punjab & Haryana states on air quality- NEERI

17

Air quality impact on travel choice (A-Quit)- TERI SAS

18

Pilot study for assessment of reducing air pollution in urban areas by using outdoor cleaning system (sometimes called as Smog Tower)- IITB, TPL

19

Health impact of firecrackers bursting during Diwali in National Capital of Delhi – MAMC (5 year)

20

Near-real time fire emission estimation and fire forecasting system for Delhi Air Quality- CDAC

Activities related to Field visits

21

Clean Air for Delhi Campaign

22

CPCB field visits for feedback on air polluting activities in Delhi

Laboratory infrastructure projects

23

Up gradation of existing SODAR at CPCB – NPL

24

Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (EDXRF) for Instrumentation Laboratory, CPCB

25

Procurement of Instruments/ equipment for Instrumentation Laboratory, CPCB

26

Strengthening of Lab Infrastructure- Air Laboratory, CPCB

Road dust control projects related to ULBs

27

Proposal of GMC for road maintenance/construction

CAAQMS projects

28

Commissioning of Central Control Room(CCR), Social Media Platform, Sameer App – IT, CPCB

29

Strengthening of Air Quality Monitoring network in Delhi- Air Laboratory, CPCB

30

Expansion of CAAQMS in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh- HSPCB and UPPCB

Palletisation guidelines

31

Grant for Pellet plant

Note: Besides above, EPC funds have been utilised for meeting expenditures towards stipend, meetings/ workshops and other administrative activities. 

Annexure –IV

 

Annexure-V

Name of ULB

Proposal Sanctioned

Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation

5 Anti-Smog Guns (ASGs)  at a cost of Rs 2.25 crore

Municipal Corporation Faridabad

5 Mechanical Road Sweeping Machines (MRSMs) and 5 ASGs at a cost of Rs 4.025 crore

12 km road construction/repair works and 8 km paving works at a cost of Rs 27.1 crore

Meerut Municipal Corporation

14 km road construction/repair works at a cost of Rs 20 crore

New Delhi Municipal Corporation

5 MRSMs at a cost of Rs 14.3 crore

4 ULBs/landowning agencies in UP

6 MRSMs and 4 ASGs at a cost of Rs 5.392 crore

 

Total

Rs. 73.067 crores

This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

Visitor Counter : 772