Environment: India’s environment ministry has said it has not been able to use nearly half the money allocated for its various schemes and programmes. This is particularly significant because in the year of the pandemic, the impact of climate change and rising pollution have been in focus more than ever.
The budget estimate for the ministry in 2020-21 was INR 3,100 crore, of which only INR 1,673.71 crore was used till January 31st this year.
The ministry had been allocated INR 460 crore for control of pollution in the Union Budget 2020-21. This scheme largely funds the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), the most prominent central initiative to tackle air pollution. NCAP targets included achieving a 20-30 percent reduction in particulate matter concentrations by 2024. Till January end, the ministry had utilised only about INR 190 crore, or 41 percent, out of the INR 460 crore allocated.
Moreover, between 2018-19 and 2020-21, just a fourth of the budget for research on ecological and environmental topics has been utilised.
A parliamentary panel has suggested that the ministry come up with innovative ideas and use the idle funds for a range of activities including building the infrastructure needed for electric vehicles, and establishing biodegraders to address the annual problem of stubble burning—which causes significant pollution in Delhi-NCR and other north Indian cities.
Read this article to know what it will take to prioritise climate change.
