Central Pollution Control Board Utilised Less Than 1% of Environmental Cess Accumulated Over Eight Years

The CPCB also disclosed that it spent only 31 per cent of the environmental pollution charge (EPC) collected during the previous decade.

The Wire Staff

Jun 17 2025

The CPCB also disclosed that it spent only 31 per cent of the environmental pollution charge (EPC) collected during the previous decade.

central pollution control board utilised less than 1 of environmental cess accumulated over eight years

Representative image. Photo: Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT/Flickr (ATTRIBUTION-SHAREALIKE 2.0 GENERIC)

New Delhi: The Central Pollution Control Board has said in a disclosure about environmental fund utilisation that it utilised only one per cent of the environmental cess (EC) that accumulated over eight years.

While it had collected around Rs 45.8 crore as EC in the last eight years, the CPCB admitted to spending a only Rs 9 lakh, which is less than one per cent of the amount.

The CPCB also disclosed that it spent only 31 per cent of the environmental pollution charge (EPC) collected during the previous decade, reported Times of India.

In separate responses to right to information queries by activist Amit Gupta, the CPCB has said that while it collected around Rs. 427 crore as EPC in Delhi in the decade between 2014-15 and 2024-25, till March this year, only Rs. 130.9 crore was utilised for anti-pollution measures.

The highest EPC was collected in 2024-25, amounting to Rs. 74.4 crore, but only Rs. 31.9 crore was spent, indicating to a consistent trend of underutilisation.

While the CPCB claims to have approved 67 projects across India using the EC funds, its spending record shows a faulty implementation.

Earlier this year, a parliamentary committee had pulled up the Union environment ministry for underutilisation of funds earmarked for a pollution control scheme.

Of the Rs. 858 crore allocated to the ministry for the ‘Control of Pollution’ scheme in the financial year 2024-25, only Rs. 7.22 crore, or less than 1% of the funds, were used.

“…the committee is shocked to note that amount to the tune of Rs 858 crore allocated for ‘Control of Pollution’, which is 27.44 percent of the annual RE (revised estimate) allocation of the ministry, remains unutilized since the approval for continuation of Control of Pollution Scheme till 2025-26 is, awaited, even at the fag end of the financial year,” the House panel had stated in its report.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.