CPCB spent less than 1 pc of ₹45 crore environmental fines collected since 2018: RTI reply

New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has spent just 0.2 per cent of the environmental compensation it collected from 2018 to 2024 on protecting the environment, according to official data accessed through a Right to Information (RTI) application.

The CPCB collected ₹45.81 crore in fines and penalties under environmental compensation (EC) during this period but spent only ₹9 lakh, less than one-fiftieth of the total amount, the RTI query filed by social activist Amit Gupta revealed.

There is no record of EC spending in most years. The only exception is 2024-25, when ₹9 lakh was finally utilised.

The CPCB receives 25 per cent of the EC collected by state pollution control boards and also levies fines directly on polluters in various cases.

These funds are meant to be used for environmental protection, including strengthening of labs, monitoring networks, compliance studies, capacity building and costs incurred by the National Green Tribunal (NGT)-appointed committees.

However, a large portion of the money has remained unspent.

The data also shows that the CPCB spent only ₹130.9 crore, about 30 per cent of the ₹427.37 crore collected under the Environment Protection Charge (EPC) during the same period. These funds are meant to tackle air pollution in Delhi-NCR.

The EPC is collected at the rate of one per cent of the ex-showroom price of diesel vehicles with engine capacity of 2,000 cc and above, registered in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), as per a Supreme Court order.

The funds are supposed to support air quality improvement efforts, including R&D, control of vehicular pollution, health impact studies and pollution mitigation projects in Delhi-NCR and parts of Punjab.

The data revealed a consistent trend of underutilisation.

The CPCB collected ₹29.28 crore in 2016-17 but spent only ₹0.01 crore. In 2023-24, ₹65.28 crore was collected, while spending stood at just ₹22.38 crore.

In 2024-25, it collected ₹74.39 crore but spent only ₹31.98 crore.

Earlier in March, a parliamentary panel flagged that only ₹7.22 crore (less than one per cent) of the ₹858 crore allocated to the Environment Ministry for its 'Control of Pollution' scheme in 2024-25 had been spent by January 21.

The department-related standing committee on science and technology, environment, forests and climate change expressed "shock" and urged the ministry to "introspect" and take serious note of the reasons behind the gross underutilisation.